CBRE IM pays $135M for Charlotte industrial park

CBRE Investment Management paid $135 million for North Charlotte Commerce Center, a 900,000-square-foot industrial park in Mooresville, a far-north Charlotte suburb. The Real Deal reported the purchase, which was part of a larger 2.3-million-square-foot portfolio transaction that also included properties in New Jersey and Georgia. The seller was an entity linked to Revantage, which sits in the Blackstone portfolio. At $135 million for the Mooresville portion, the price comes to $150 a square foot. The Charlotte piece accounts for roughly 39 percent of the portfolio's 2.3 million square feet.

Strategic Real Estate Partners built the three buildings for Blackstone’s Link Logistics. Tenants include Carolina Beverage Group, which occupies 723,533 square feet at 142 Serviceberry Way; Battle Copacking at 134 Serviceberry Way; and Quantum Machinery Group at 156 Exmore Road. Carolina Beverage Group’s block is roughly 80 percent of the park's total square footage. The portfolio is 100 percent leased, according to The Real Deal. CBRE IM has been eyeing Charlotte for some time, and the center’s full occupancy plus its location in a booming submarket made it attractive, the outlet reports.

Charlotte-area industrial landlords now face a crowded expiration calendar, the result of a pandemic-era leasing surge. The Real Deal reports 46.1 million square feet of leases will expire between 2026 and 2031, peaking in 2028 at 10.8 million square feet. That timetable pushes tenants to start their next move early, and it sends more occupiers hunting the same blocks. For the biggest requirements, a shortage of large big-box space is expected to hold tenants in place. The roll is the defining feature of the Charlotte market right now.

Buying fully leased ahead of that roll gives CBRE IM negotiating leverage. With no vacancy at closing, the income stream starts immediately. The next lease talks start from occupancy, not vacancy. The 2028 renewals will show whether $150 a foot was shrewd or merely early.