Challenge: How to Market an Auto-Supplier Plant

LANDSDALE, PA-BPG Properties is currently faced with an interesting challenge. The Philadelphia-based property-fund manager is trying to sell a 705,000-square-foot warehouse that houses the bankrupt Visteon Corp., which manufactures auto electronics and is vacating the entire space in next year’s first quarter to move its operations to Europe.

So far, BPG executives have tried to lease out the space to another tenant, to no avail. Right now, there aren’t many in the market companies looking to lease such a large footprint, points out Joseph Nahas, a BPG vice president.

So now BPG, which only typically holds assets as an investment for five to seven years, is taking a different tact and is looking to sell the entire thing. One potential buyer Nahas isn’t expecting any time soon is another automobile-parts manufacturer, given the rough state afflicting that industry.

But he does see other potential industry uses. For example, the building, located at 2750 Morris Rd., is in a life sciences-heavy pocket, where 51 companies in that industry reside. Nahas hopes that another firm looking to get near that critical mass, or a company involved in a related field, will be interested in buying the building.

Other possibilities for the asset, which was built in 1989 originally for Ford Electronics and Refrigeration, could include subdividing space from 45,000 square feet to 450,000 square feet to assist potential users.

In the meantime BPG is still willing to lease the property. “If a significant user comes up and says they want to lease, we’ll certainly speak to them,” Nahas says.