MEPT Adds to Reno Industrial Holdings

RENO, NV-Multi-Employer Property Trust has added 104 acres in Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center to its local portfolio. The land will hold two million sf of development, according to Trammell Crow, which acquired the property on behalf of Kennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel, the Seattle-based firm that manages the MEPT assets.MEPT is a $7.2-billion open-end commingled real estate equity fund. The acquisition brings to more than $50 million the amount MEPT has invested in the Reno-Tahoe Industrial Center in the past several months.

In December, MEPT acquired USA Parkway Distribution Center I & II for $41.7 million. The two recently completed industrial buildings total 800,000 sf and are fully leased. One of the buildings, totaling 310,960 sf, is fully leased, and MEPT has an option to expand the facility by 287,000 sf on an adjacent parcel. The 491,400-sf second building is currently unoccupied.

The cost of the land acquisition was $10.2 million, a local industry source tells GlobeSt.com. In explaining the acquisitions, MEPT describes the Reno-Tahoe Industrial Complex as an “attractive distribution hub for companies trying to capitalize on the region’s low cost of doing business, favorable tax environment, and ready access to the Western US.”

MEPT is not a newcomer to the Reno market. Previously, Trammell Crow developed on its behalf the one-million-sf Southwest Commerce Center.

Gary Duhon, managing director of Trammell Crow Co.’s Northern Nevada office, represented Kennedy Associates. Duhon says recent additions to the Reno-Tahoe Industrial Center include distribution facilities for PetSmart, Wal-Mart, Kuehne Nagel, Dell Computers and James Hardie Products. L. Lance Gilman Real Estate Services is the exclusive broker for the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center.