Blue Pup Buys 110,000-SF Facility

KENTLAND, IN-Blue Pup LLC has acquired a 110,000-square-foot facility at 102 East Bailie St. The Wolcott, IN-based geothermal company purchased the property from a private investment firm for around $6 per square foot. James Wells, a broker with Zionsville, IN-based Honeycomb Properties, represented Blue Pup in the deal, while the seller was represented by Fred Block, president and managing broker, of Lake Bluff, IL-based Block Realty Advisors Inc., and Criss Horton, principal with Indianapolis-based NAI Olympia Partners.

“The principal of Blue Pup has been operating his business on a couple thousand acres of land in Kansas, but he wanted a place to work out of and to do something closer to home,” Block tells GlobeSt.com. “The principal lives within 10 miles of the building, so it’s a perfect location with lots of space. He doesn’t need all that space now, but he’s going to be using it for his business as a distribution point.

The company will use about 40,000 square feet of the Newton County facility to start for its receiving, assembly, packaging and shipping operations, and has plans to lease up the remainder of the space. Block says Blue Pup will likely expand and occupy a larger percentage of the building in the future. “He may grow into more of it over time, but for the first three to five years, they’re going to be looking for someone to take some space,” Block says.

The fully air-conditioned building offers 5,000 square feet of mezzanine, 5,200 square feet of office, 24-foot clear ceilings, four docks, one drive-in door, a security system, heavy power, a maintenance garage and parking for 165 vehicles. The building was initially constructed in 1972 but later expanded in 1978 and 1987. Further expansion of as much as 200,000 square feet is possible on the 33-acre site, which offers access to the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway.

“It has been an empty building for the private investment company for a while,” Block says. “It was a good investment and now they’ve been paying taxes on an empty building and they wanted to do something else. All things considered, Blue Pup went after this building rather aggressively.”