Keith Corp. sells 10 Charlotte-area industrial properties

Cushman & Wakefield’s Atlanta office announced Tuesday that its equity debt and structured finance team arranged $78.5 million of acquisition financing for The Keith Corporation Industrial Portfolio on behalf of a joint venture between Schmier & Feurring Properties, Inc., L&J Schmier Management and Investment Company and Independencia Asset Management LLC.

The financing was for The Keith Corporation's sale of  10 industrial properties totaling 1.93 million square feet in the Charlotte area. The assets were financed with a 10-year, cross-collateralized loan with 5 years of interest-only. The portfolio was leveraged at 72% of purchase price with the lender providing future funding for a to-be-built buiding for Britax Child Safety, Inc. 

“Our client was seeking acquisition financing for the 10-asset industrial portfolio. One of the 10 assets is a build-to-suit, which is still under construction; therefore, we acquired the financing on the existing nine assets with the ability for a future advance when the build-to-suit property is completed,” said Mike Ryan, Senior Managing Director for Cushman & Wakefield Equity Debt & Structured Finance in Atlanta. “The lender was particularly attracted to the deal because of its stable cash flow resulting from a diverse tenant mix with long-term leases. In addition, nearly 80% of the square footage belonged to mission critical facilities."

The properties included in the transaction are:

·         Lakemont West Business Park, Pleasant Rd., Charlotte, NC – Britax Child Safety build-to-suit (478,400 square feet)

·         Lincoln County Industrial Park, 621 Lincoln County Pkwy., Lincolnton, NC (382,668 square feet)

·         Lincoln County Industrial Park, 100 East Powell Dr, Lincolnton, NC (360,800 square feet)

·         Lincoln County Industrial Park, 4100 Progress Drive, Lincolnton, NC (106,144 square feet)

·         Lincoln County Industrial Park, 3333 Finger Mill Rd., Lincolnton, NC (60,650 square feet)

·         Lincoln County Industrial Park, 520 Lincoln County Parkway Extension, Lincolnton, NC (38,480 square feet)

·         Rock Greek Center, 6450 Franz Warner Parkway, Whitsett, NC (241,050 square feet)

·         Sherrill Industrial Park, 2061 Sherrill Drive, Statesville, NC (112,500 square feet)

·         Sherrill Industrial Park, 2101 Sherrill Drive, Statesville, NC (65,900 square feet)

·         Cleveland County Industrial Park, 212 Commerce Blvd.,  Kings Mountain, NC  (80,052 square feet)

Mike Ryan, Brian Linnihan, Jeff Walker, and Larry Johnson represented the joint venture between Schmier & Feurring Properties, Inc., L&J Schmier Management and Investment Company and Independencia Asset Management LLC on the acquisition financing.