Philadelphia Investors Continue Acquiring Commercial Properties Here

By Claudio Mendonca
A 5-month-old Philadelphia group investing heavily in Miami-Dade County warehouse properties made its most recent buy this week.

On Tuesday, Seagis Property Group LP closed on a 170,000-square-foot structure in the Beacon Industrial Park on Northwest 112th Street in the Airport West submarket. According to partner Charles Lee, it will house logistics company Nippon Express.

Seagis, which acquires, develops and redevelops industrial real estate, has 750,050 square feet of warehouses in Miami-Dade.

The company was spun off Keystone Property Trust, another Pennsylvania buyer of commercial real estate, and operations started in March. Mr. Lee said he and partner John Begier, former Keystone executives, saw a wealth of opportunity in buying South Florida commercial properties.

"We are basically investing in two core markets – New Jersey and South Florida," Mr. Lee said. The South Florida market, he said, is attractive because supply is constrained and not much land remains for industrial development.

Because South Florida is a difficult market in which to acquire land, he said, the "high barriers of entry" mean buildings will appreciate in value in the long term.

"Because of the dynamics of the market, we think Miami is one of the best places to deploy our capital," Mr. Lee said. "We will be actively searching not only in Miami-Dade but in Broward County as well."

The two partners spent $8.1 million on a 175,000-square-foot distribution facility in the 6-acre Gratigny Central Industrial Park on 3000 NW 125th St.

Additionally, they paid $10.7 million for a 215,000-square-foot building in Medley on 16 acres at 7901 NW 71st St. That property has been leased to Glassalum International Corp., one of the nation’s largest curtain-wall manufacturers.

The partners also paid $3.6 million for a 68,800-square-foot property in Sunshine Industrial Park, 1175 NW 159th Dr. In addition, Seagis bought two buildings totaling 121,250 square feet at 57 NE 179th St., a mile west of Interstate 95 in Miami Gardens.

"We have been attracted to buildings’ functionality and location," Mr. Begier said, "and expect to continue expanding our South Florida presence with similar acquisitions in the near future."