The first phase of The Hub at London Groveport consists of four industrial buildings. Image provided by: JLL
EQT Exeter has purchased the first phase of The Hub at London Groveport, an industrial park in the Columbus suburb of Lockbourne, Ohio, and a 6.7-acre trailer parking lot in Greater Columbus, Ohio. A joint venture between Xebec and Heitmann sold the assets with support from JLL.
The first phase of the hub will consist of 1,590,495 square feet across four industrial buildings that debuted in 2021. In the second phase, two more facilities will be operational.
The portfolio includes approximately 1 million square feet of cross-dock facilities and three rear-load facilities totaling 531,495 square feet.
All four buildings are 32 feet tall with a total of 277 dock-level doors, 10 grade-level doors, and track court depths ranging from 60 to 130 feet. The portfolio was 91% leased at the time of the sale, with Amazon one of two tenants on its roster.
Related article: Industrial trade volumes are down, prices are high
The Hub, with addresses 6201 and 6322 Collings Drive and 1260 and 1302 London Groveport Road, is 16 miles southeast of downtown Columbus. Rickenbacker International Airport is one of the world’s largest cargo-only airports, handling more than 30 million pounds of cargo per month, and is located approximately 3 miles away.
The JLL team representing the seller included Managing Director John Huguenard, President Jody Thornton, Managing Director Ed Hallabert and Director William McCormack.
EQT Exeter expands closer to the airport
As of October, EQT Exeter managed more than $30 billion in global equities. The company owns and operates 2,000 properties spanning more than 375 million square feet worldwide and continues to expand its industrial portfolio.
Just this week, EQT Exeter paid $143.2 million in an all-cash deal for its Phoenix Gateway portfolio. Link Logistics sold six industrial buildings spanning 860,200 square feet, also within the airport submarket.
Despite large pipeline, Columbus industrial vacancies remain stable
Industrial investment in the Columbus metropolitan area reached $571 million year-to-date as of August, according to a report from Commercial Edge. The property traded at $82 per square foot, below the national average of $132 per square foot.
In one of Metro’s biggest deals, WP Carey acquired the Rickenbacker Exchange in Building 2 at Commercial Point, a 1.2 million square foot speculative industrial facility. VanTrust Real Estate sold the property for $94.1 million.
The vacancy rate in the Columbus metropolitan area was 4.6% in August, the report continues. Discovery City had the third-lowest rate in the United States, behind Charlotte, North Carolina (4.0 percent) and Bridgeport, Conn. (4.2 percent).
One factor contributing to Greater Columbus’ vacancy growth can be attributed to its industrial pipeline. As of August, the metro had 8.7 million square feet of industrial land under construction, representing 2.8% of its stock, higher than the national average of 1.9%, the same source revealed.
