CIA Developers Obtains 14-Building Industrial Portfolio
By Space Coast Daily // September 5, 2012
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, Inc., one of South Florida’s leading commercial real estate services firm, today announced that it negotiated the $9.25-million sale of a 14-building industrial portfolio in Melbourne.
The portfolio buyer was CIA Developers, a leading provider of high-tech office, manufacturing and warehouse facilities in the area. The purchase adds to CIA’s existing portfolio of over 1.2 million square feet in the region and marks one of Melbourne’s largest commercial property sales in recent years.
The sale is also noteworthy because of the strong interest the portfolio generated due to its high occupancy rate, diversified tenant base and strong cash flow. Multiple interested parties were narrowed down to two, with those two vying for the better part of a year to be awarded the portfolio until CIA ultimately won out.
The portfolio of Class-B buildings totals 284,500-square -feet, and was sold by Bethesda-based Clarke Enterprises, Inc. (CIE), a sizeable owner, investor and developer of primarily commercial properties in the Washington D.C. area.
“This began as a very challenging sale given the portfolio’s location in a tertiary market, beyond the radar of most institutional investors,” said C. Todd Everett, Managing Director in the Investment Services Group at NAI/Merin Hunter Codman.
“We conveyed to the market its potential — a ‘bread and butter’ industrial portfolio with significant cash flow for a buyer from day one and further upside as the economy revitalizes. We ended up attracting numerous buyers, and in the end, chose the one with the best financial clout to close.”
According to the Milken Institute, Brevard County boasts the most concentrated high-tech economy in the state of Florida and the seventh most concentrated in the nation.
Florida’s Space Coast, an hour south of Kennedy Space Center, is the birthplace of space exploration and has grown to include cutting edge firms in communications, electronics, aerospace, advanced security and emerging technologies.
Major corporations in the area include Boeing, DRS, General Electric, Knight Armaments, L3, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Rockwell Collins, and the area is the world headquarters of Harris Corporation. The area is also home to nine colleges and universities including the renowned Florida Institute of Technology and technical institutions like Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Brevard County Has Most Concentrated High-Tech Economy In Florida
According to the Milken Institute, Brevard County boasts the most concentrated high-tech economy in the state of Florida and the seventh most concentrated in the nation. The industrial portfolio that was sold is within Melbourne’s core industrial sub-market and has a diversified tenant base that includes the electronics giant, Philips, as well as high-tech, engineering, manufacturing, healthcare and light-industrial uses.
The portfolio is spread across four properties, collectively totaling 30 acres, in a hub of commerce that is minutes from Melbourne International Airport, close to I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike, and near east-west access roads including the Beachline Expressway (formerly the Beeline).
The portfolio boasts an 86 percent occupancy rate with a mixture of close to 60 tenants. Properties in the portfolio are located along North Drive and Dow Road and range from small bay-office and warehouse to light manufacturing and high-tech flex space.
Everett, together with David W. Knott and Ryan R. Dinsdale, Directors at NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, were the brokerage team handling the sale.
“The Melbourne portfolio is a great value-added purchase for the buyer, strengthening their critical mass in the region,” said Knott.” At the same time, the sale was done at the right time and price for the seller, whose primary focus is currently in the Washington D.C. area.”
Said Ryan Dinsdale, “We see the upside potential for commercial properties in the Palm Bay-Melbourne region and hope to do more deals and attract more investors to the region. The market for industrial properties in this area is less competitive than South Florida. As a result, investors in the Space Coast area have the opportunity to purchase properties at higher cap rates that provide yields as much as 250 basis points higher than properties located further south.”
CIA Developers, led by CEO W. Robert “Buz” Anderson, Jr., is based in West Melbourne.
About NAI/Merin Hunter Codman
NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, www.mhcreal.com, is one of South Florida’s leading commercial real estate services firm with over three decades of experience advising clients on strategic acquisitions and dispositions and providing landlord representation, tenant representation, property management and construction management services.
The firm has expertise in all commercial property sectors including office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hotels and land. NAI/Merin Hunter Codman’s client base includes some of the nation’s most prestigious institutional and private investors and through the NAI global network, it can facilitate property transactions around the nation and the world, serving as a single point of contact for its clients’ counsel and execution.
NAI/Merin Hunter Codman is headquartered in West Palm Beach with regional offices in Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Wellington.
