By Dina Katgara and John Gittelsohn, Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s alternative investment arm is pushing deeper into warehouses with the purchase of a nearly $300 million portfolio of logistics buildings from Blackstone Inc.
The bank partnered with Dallas-based real estate firm Dalfen Industrial to acquire 21 buildings across Las Vegas, Dallas, Cincinnati and parts of Pennsylvania. The properties total roughly 2.1 million square feet (195,100 square meters) and are 92% leased to 68 tenants, including Amazon and Red Bull, according to a statement Wednesday.
Warehouses close to population centers have become increasingly important as US shoppers purchase more and more items online and expect their products to be delivered promptly. At the same time, it’s gotten trickier to build these “last mile” facilities because local residents often complain about truck traffic and pollution.
The buildings in the deal announced Wednesday were purchased for $293 million, according to Sean Dalfen, chief executive officer of Dalfen Industrial. The company’s joint venture with Goldman Sachs now owns 94 logistics buildings totaling roughly 19 million square feet.
“Over time, those assets will go up substantially in value because of how necessary they are in our infrastructure,” Dalfen said. “Last mile industrial buildings are a finite resource because communities simply don’t want them.”
While the commercial-property industry has been battered by higher interest rates, logistics facilities have remained resilient, according to a recent report by Cushman & Wakefield. While the overall vacancy rate ticked up in the fourth quarter, many markets have seen strong rent growth over the past five years, the real estate services firm said.
Selling now worked out well for Blackstone.
“Having executed our business plan at these properties, we are pleased to have reached this agreement and deliver a terrific outcome for our investors,” a Blackstone spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Dalfen Industrial has more than 50 million square feet of properties across the US and Canada worth about $5 billion. Earlier in January, the company said it acquired a pair of warehouses in Orlando and Tampa.