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Riverside Business Center, Whitehall, has been sold for $34.65 million.
1788/Riverside Business Center LLC sold the complex, a 423,900-square-foot, single story light industrial building to Buligo Capital Partners, an international investment firm, for $34.65 million.
1788/Riverside Business Center, an affiliate of 1788 Holdings LLC, a Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment company, acquired the property, located at 1139 Lehigh Avenue, in 2018 for $11.65 million and increased the occupancy of the warehouse portion from 87% to its current 100% during its four-year hold period, the company said in a press release.
Michael Hines of CBRE’s Radnor/Philadelphia office represented the seller in this transaction.
“We were initially attracted to Riverside Business Center based on the unique opportunity to acquire a high-quality Class B light industrial property that was substantially leased with in-place rents significantly below market, as well as the compelling opportunity to build significant value with a strategic capital investment program, aggressive leasing effort and cost-efficient property management strategy,” said Larry Goodwin, principal, 1788 Holdings.
“The property contained every fundamental necessary to achieve this objective, led by an irreplaceable location, a strong tenant base and the extreme acceleration in demand for industrial, light manufacturing and warehouse space throughout the Lehigh Valley corridor,” he said.
Constructed in 1910, Riverside Business Center has been improved and renovated on numerous occasions, including the investment of more than $9 million by the previous owner in 2006 to convert the property from a single-user manufacturing facility into a multi-tenanted warehouse and light manufacturing facility, the press release said.
The conversion included the installation of 31 dock doors and 23 drive-in doors, the installment of modernized HVAC and lighting and plumbing systems, substantial improvement to all tenant suites, a complete exterior brick and concrete makeover and parking lot upgrades.
Abutting the Lehigh River, the center is located adjacent to US Route 22 with access to Interstate 78 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Lehigh Valley International Airport is less than three miles from the site. It is within a one-day truck drive to approximately one-third of all consumers in the United States, the release said.