Defense giant Lockheed Martin leased 136,165 square feet in the building in January, primarily for storage. Fan maker Big Ass Fans also has space in the building.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Editor’s note: The video at the top of this story aired on January 18, 2024. The following article was originally published by WFAA’s content partner, the Dallas Business Journal. Read the original article here.
A three-building industrial park on more than 30 acres in northwest Fort Worth has changed hands.
Dallas-based Creation Equity and institutional investors advised by JPMorgan Asset Management have sold the 531,601-square-foot industrial park known as Fort West Commerce Center to Boston-based private equity real estate investment firm High Street Logistics Properties LLC, Creation announced July 25. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Dallas-based Holt Lunsford Commercial is handling the lease for the business park at 3101 NW Center Drive. Defense giant Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) leased 136,165 square feet in the building in January, primarily for warehousing. Fan maker Big Ass Fans also has space in the building. Holt Lunsford’s George Jennings did not respond to Dallas Business Journal questions about the building’s current occupancy status. But Taylor Mitchum, Creation’s Texas president, said the building’s leasing activity helped the sale.
“With this sale, our third significant project in the region, we continue to demonstrate our strong belief in the fundamentals of this market and look forward to announcing the acquisition of another nearby site in the near future,” Mitcham said in a statement.
Creation was founded in 2018 by David Sellers and Bob Agahi and currently has a $4.5 billion portfolio across Arizona, Texas, California, Tennessee, New York and New Jersey. Last year, the company opened a $17 million headquarters in Dallas’ Design District and its Texas portfolio surpassed $1 billion.
Dallas-Fort Worth’s industrial market is slowing. From April through June, the construction pipeline declined for the fifth consecutive quarter to 21.8 million square feet. This is the lowest construction activity since the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a recent JLL report. However, leasing increased 25% from the first quarter to the highest level since the first quarter of 2023. Vacancy rates continue to rise, but the pace is slowing.
Many in the market remain confident. Hillwood, for example, is planning another large industrial building in Alliance, Texas. Preston Meyer, managing director and portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, said the industrial sector remains in strong demand and the Fort West Commercial Center deal is one example of that.
“This transaction underscores investor confidence and demand for high-quality, strategically located industrial assets,” Meyer said in a statement.
