For those looking to get into the lucrative game of distribution centers and networks – perhaps the fastest-growing industry in the Greater Lehigh Valley – there are two ways.
For those looking to get into the lucrative game of distribution centers and networks – perhaps the fastest-growing industry in the Greater Lehigh Valley – there are two ways.
One method is to develop, build, own and manage these properties – which has been the method of choice for many companies in the region over the past several years.
The other way is to buy existing properties.
And that is what Singapore-based Global Logistic Properties Ltd. is doing, both in the Greater Lehigh Valley and across the U.S.
GLP this year, in fact, acquired an $8.1 billion U.S. logistics real estate portfolio, which includes several properties in Lehigh and Northampton counties.
All told, GLP, an owner and manager of logistics facilities, bought 115 million square feet of properties from IndCor Properties – a portfolio company wholly owned by Blackstone Group LP, headquartered in New York. The new owner then rebranded the properties as Global Logistic Properties.
“Transactions of this scale don’t happen often,” said Gerard Blinebury, executive director of brokerage services for Cushman & Wakefield of Pennsylvania Inc. in Harrisburg. “I think there is a big-picture opportunity. It was the opportunity to purchase a national footprint.”
That explains why GLP bought so much property across America.
But, in particular, why would a Singapore company decide to invest $78 million in industrial property in the Greater Lehigh Valley?
“The Lehigh Valley is a submarket within the eastern Pennsylvania market where GLP has a strong presence, approximately 7 million square feet,” said Paul Loosmann, U.S. co-chief investment officer for GLP. “The Lehigh Valley is one of the strongest submarkets in the U.S., boasting low single-digit vacancy rates and constrained supply relative to the robust tenant demand.”
