Finance Lending
HFF Arranges $97M Refi for Industrial Portfolio
Oct 10, 2008
By: Coreen Bailor, Research Editor

The Dallas office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has secured $97.5 million in refinancing for a seven-property industrial portfolio comprising 2.2 million square feet in Florida, New Jersey, Oregon and Texas.

The cluster of properties includes: Madison industrial Park Building A in Tampa, Fla.; 34 Englehard in Monroe, N.J.; 888 Doremus in Newark, N.J.; Columbia Corporate Park Buildings 1 & 2 in Portland, Ore.; 2755 Regent Blvd. in Dallas; Stafford Distribution Buildings 1-3 in Stafford, Texas; and Port 225 A, B and C in Pasadena, Texas. The portfolio is 93 percent occupied overall.

HFF managing director John Rose worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, ING Clarion Partners, to arrange the five-year fixed-rate refinancing through a life insurance company. HFF will service the loan, as well as manage future borrower requests, such as substitution of collateral or individual asset releases.

One trend occurring in the industrial sector is that companies are analyzing supply chain management solutions due to the rise in energy costs, Rose noted. “As a result, shippers could consider a larger network of distribution centers and are placing a greater emphasis on logistics solutions,” he said. “Port locations have experienced more interest from institutional investors, as well as users.”

Rose added that given the lower occupancy costs--in comparison to other asset types--associated with operating and re-tenanting warehouse properties, the industrial sector is expected to remain relatively stable. “Industrial properties continue to be a favored property type by both equity investors and lenders,” he said. However, “development has slowed as a result of a tightening credit market and an increase in cost of capital.”

HFF made news earlier this month when, as reported by CPN, the firm announced that it arranged a $90.5 million refinancing for another industrial portfolio, as well as $36 million in financing for a 124,700-square-foot Class A office building in Washington, D.C.

 
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