BPG Preps for $20M Build-to-Suit

SHENANDOAH COUNTY, VA-BPG Development Co., BPG Properties’ development arm, will be beginning site work next week on a 406,000-sf build-to-suit warehouse and manufacturing facility for Solaris Paper. Construction costs for the entire project are estimated to be in excess of $20 million, according to Daniel DiLella Jr., vice president of Industrial Properties for BPG. He tells GlobeSt.com that BPG acquired the 29-acres for the site from a private seller a few months ago, as part of the transaction.

Solaris Paper signed the 10-year lease in early March, with the project expected to deliver in Q4 2008. The site, located near the intersection of I-81 and 66, has been designed and approved for up to an additional 100,000 sf.

One of the reasons why Solaris chose this location is its proximity to the Virginia Inland Port. It is only 10 miles away from the facility, which will save Solaris on transportation costs as it will be receiving its raw materials for the port, DiLella explains. Santa Fe, CA-based Solaris Paper is the North American sales and marketing group for LIVI brand and private label products. The Shenandoah County facility will be its first on the East Coast.

The facility will feature concrete tilt up construction, 32-foot clear ceiling heights, an ESFR sprinkler system and cross-docking with 50 dock doors and 50 trailer spaces. Sustainable features of the building include high efficiency lighting, a TPO white roof and a recycling program for paper waste, wood pallets and water-based glue.

BPG has inked another deal in this submarket earlier this year, pointing to the two transactions as evidence of growth in the I-81 corridor. An affiliate of Ply Gem Industries, a manufacturer of residential exterior building products, signed a 268,000-sf lease at BPG’s 4500 Early Rd. property in Harrisonburg, approximately 50 miles north of the Solaris facility. BPG acquired the 358,000-sf facility, also called the I-81 Distribution Center, in Dec. 2006. Since that time, BPG has received municipal approvals for an additional 430,000-sf of development. John Lesinski and Joshua Gurland of Leland Group Commercial Real Estate LLC represented the landlord in the lease negotiations with Ply Gem.