Two Pacific Asset Properties Carry $44M-Plus Price Tag

DEERFIELD, BEACH, FL-In separate transactions to different buyers, California-based Pacific Asset Corp. sold two business complexes here, aggregating 470,289 sf, for $44.4 million. Conshohocken, PA-based KTR Capital Partners LLC acquired Quorum Business Center, and locally based Butters Real Estate Funds acquired Newport Center Business Plaza.

KTR’s price tag for Quorum was just under $37.2 million, or $91 per sf, which is “on the high side, possibly a record for industrial property in South Florida,” John Bell, SVP in the Miami office of Trammell Crow Co., tells GlobeSt.com. Bell represented Pacific and obtained buyers for this and the Newport transaction.

Quorum, located at 602-858 S. Military Trail, consists of four warehouse distribution buildings and two office/flex structures with a total of 407,616 sf. They were built between 1983 and 1986, and the center is currently 87% occupied, according to Bell.

“Institutional quality industrial product is scarce in South Florida, and demand is exceptionally strong,” he says. “When a property of this size and quality goes on the market, bidding gets intense. The price is indicative of the park’s quality and central location with easy access to I-95. Even at a premium price,” he adds, “it will provide significant and immediate upside in terms of anticipated rent spikes.” First-quarter reports put the asking average rental rates at about $6.50 per sf and $10.25 per sf for warehouse/distribution and office/flex space, respectively.

Newport Center Business Plaza is a 62,673-sf, two-building, single-story office complex in Newport Center Business Park. Butters, which is headquartered just across from its new acquisition, paid just over $7.2 million, or $115 per sf, for the complex. It was completed in 1985 and is 93% leased, Bell says.

“The property offers tenants direct entry, and it appeals to the professional market in the area,” Bell says. “There is strong demand for small-suite office space here.” Of Butters, he says, “it’s a savvy investor/developer and understands the property’s nuances and market value better than almost anyone.”