STAG Capital Enters NY Market With $31M Buy

(Read more on the industrial market.)

JOHNSTOWN, NY-In its first deal in New York State, Boston-based STAG Capital Partners has purchased a total of 892,559 sf of industrial space here and in Gloversville.

The firm purchased the 12-building portfolio from Crossroads Incubator Corp., an affiliate of locally based Fulton County Economic Development Corp. A Crossroads Incubator official put the sale price at $31.3 million. The properties are located in two industrial parks, Johnstown Industrial Park and Crossroads Industrial Park, and one business park, Crossroads Business Park north of Schenectady and Albany. All buildings are 100% occupied by tenants such as Wal-Mart, Sysco, Univar USA, and NYK Logistics. The largest property in the portfolio is a 207,000-sf industrial building fully occupied by Wal-Mart in the Johnstown Industrial Park.

David Pizzotti, vice president of acquisitions for STAG Capital Partners, says most of the tenants are signed under net lease agreements. STAG acquires single-tenant net leased properties via third party transactions and corporate sale-leasebacks. Most of the firm’s 85-property portfolio throughout the US consists of warehouse, flex and manufacturing space, although the firm does own some office product.

The firm was attracted to the properties due to their diverse tenant base and the fact that the tenants have been occupants of the properties or have a presence in the region for a long time, Pizzotti notes.

Todd Curley, vice president and associate broker of Coldwell Banker Commercial Prime Properties of Albany represented Crossroads Incubator Corp/ in the transaction. STAG was represented by Harry Milne, who previously worked with Coldwell Banker Commercial Scalzo Group of Bethel, CT.

As far as STAG’s acquisition pipeline, Pizzotti says, “We are actively pursuing other opportunities in New York and nationally.”

In June, STAG announced it had purchased a 206,800-sf warehouse and office building in Glendale, WI and in a separate transaction acquired 256,026 sf of warehouse and manufacturing space in Youngstown, OH and Bardstown, KY as part of a 15-year sale-leaseback transaction with Polyair Corp, a division of Polyair Inter Pack, Inc.

The sale involves 12 of the 23 properties owned by Crossroads Incubator Corp., which was established in 1986 to develop, own and manage real estate projects within Fulton County. Since then, CIC has developed more than two million sf of commercial space in Fulton County and up until the sale owned and managed almost 1.5 million sf of space.

CIC Executive VP Peter Sciocchetti says the firm is currently studying whether it will put the remaining 11 properties on the market for sale. He notes that the multi-tenant properties were originally part of the package, however, STAG Capital decided to acquire just 12 of the 23 commercial properties.

“It is bittersweet for CIC to divest itself of these fine facilities,” says Jeff Bray, EVP of the Fulton County Economic Development Corp., “however it is a testament to the quality of the buildings and the tenants occupying those facilities that a company of the magnitude of STAG has come to Fulton County to invest theirs and their clients’ funds.”

CIC’s Sciocchetti adds, “It was never the intention of Crossroads Incubator Corp. to become a landlord of this magnitude, but the market conditions dictated that course. STAG’s acquisition will allow CIC to recapitalize itself and to concentrate on new opportunities in Fulton County.”