CoStar: Cold storage sales drive industrial investment in 2019

Recent data from commercial real estate information firm CoStar shows record industrial investments for annual sales volume in 2019. The value has topped $100 million for the first time in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas. The Fort Smith metro topped $50 million in volume for the first time.

Todd Galvin, CoStar’s market analyst for Northwest Arkansas, said activity in the cold storage/refrigeration sector is behind Arkansas’ pinnacle year in terms of sales volume.

“Cloverleaf Cold Storage, which has acquired the sixth-most cold storage/refrigeration facilities in the nation since the start of 2010, purchased a portfolio of five of these assets in Arkansas,” Galvin wrote in a recent report. “This Iowa-based company acquired these properties earlier this year for $225 million. Since this sale, Cloverleaf has been acquired by Americold Properties.”

Galvin said the industrial market, which encompasses all logistics, flex and specialized properties, has seen investment primarily in logistics properties for the better part of the current economic expansion. A lot of that can be credited to the rise of e-commerce, and distribution and warehouse facilities have been extremely desirable to investors. However, as online companies continue to expand into grocery delivery, Galvin said refrigeration and cold storage facilities have started to increase in value.

Nationally, more than $1.5 billion in sales volume has traded hands this year, which is up over 30% from 2018. As interest continues to rise, Galvin expects many national investors will continue to flock to nontraditional industrial markets like Little Rock, Northwest Arkansas and Fort Smith.