FedEx Warehouse Commands $73M in Columbus

Image courtesy of FedEx

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. has expanded its footprint in metropolitan Columbus, Ohio, with the acquisition of the brand-new industrial facility at 8341 Industrial Parkway in Plain City. Monmouth acquired the approximately 488,000-square-foot property, which is fully leased to FedEx Ground, from 42 Real Estate in a transaction valued at $73.3 million.

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Located roughly 20 miles north of Columbus, 8341 Industrial delivered early in the fourth quarter of 2020 as a build-to-suit project constructed for FedEx by 42 Real Estate. “We came to agreement on that [Plain City] deal over two years ago, so we locked that in before a lot of this continued cap rate compression,” Michael Landy, CEO of Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp., said during the company’s fiscal year-end 2020 earnings conference call on November 24.

Acting through its subsidiary, 42 Columbus LP, 42 Real Estate had acquired the land to develop 8341 Industrial for roughly $10.5 million in June 2019, according to Union County records. At 100 acres, the site provides ample opportunity for expansion. FedEx occupies the property under a 15-year lease agreement.

Ohio on radar

The industrial sector in the Greater Columbus area is faring relatively well, fundamentals suggest. Year-over-year absorption climbed from roughly 1.7 million square feet to 3.4 million square feet in the third quarter of 2020 and the average triple-net asking rate increased from $4.07 to $4.22 per square foot, according to a report by Lee & Associates. Additionally, a bevy of new projects currently analyzing their market options serves as positive indication of the Columbus area’s resilience. Investors are taking note. “The strength of investor interest and demand will also be on display as premier properties are put on the sales block in the near term,” according to the Lee & Associates report. “Even through this unprecedented year, it is a great time to be an industrial owner, especially with the competitive advantages this region has to offer.”

Monmouth’s acquisition of 8341 Industrial came nine months after the public equity REIT purchased a newly constructed industrial facility totaling 153,000 square feet outside Columbus in Lancaster. The nearly 25-acre property is 100 percent net leased to Magna Seating of America Inc.