WAYNE, Pa., Oct. 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT) today announced office property sales, and industrial acquisitions and development starts.
“The transactions we are announcing today reflect solid execution of our repositioning and capital recycling plan, and we are on track to meet our projections for 2018,” said chief investment officer, Mike Hagan. “We have completed $576 million in asset sales, and we have deployed the proceeds in $436 million in industrial acquisitions in target growth markets thus far in 2018. In addition, we continue to see excellent opportunities for value creation in development. The $139 million in starts we are announcing today brings our total to $367 million in 2018.”
Dispositions
On September 26 Liberty sold its five-property Arizona office portfolio for $255.0 million. The 806,000 square foot portfolio consisted of the following properties: 1850 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe, 154,029 square feet; 1870 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe, 236,131 square feet; 1910 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe, 156,583 square feet; 1930 W. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe, 135,663 square feet; and 8501 E. Raintree Drive, Scottsdale, 123,340 square feet.
Liberty continues to recycle capital from sales of office properties into growing its industrial platform in target markets, through value-add acquisitions and development.
Acquisitions
Liberty has grown its United Kingdom industrial platform to over three million square feet with the acquisition of a 1.1 million square foot portfolio of seven industrial properties for £111 million. The properties are fully leased.
Liberty has also purchased three value-add industrial properties in US target markets for $102.7 million.
- 19 Crows Mill Road, Keasbey, NJ, a 348,065 square foot property located at NJ Turnpike Exit 10
- 105 Amor Avenue, Carlstadt, NJ, a 64,488 square foot property in the Meadowlands where Liberty has assembled a portfolio of infill, industrial properties now totaling 440,000 square feet. The property is fully leased at below-market rents.
- 3535 N. Houston School Road in Lancaster, TX, a newly-constructed 900,043 square foot property at I-35E and I-20 in the South Dallas submarket.
All three acquisitions provide Liberty with the ability to deploy proceeds from sales into needed inventory with the opportunity to increase value in lease-up or upon lease roll.
Development
Liberty broke ground on seven industrial properties in seven separate markets. The properties total 1.7 million square feet and represent an investment of $138.5 million. The properties are 60% pre-leased.
- 1401 Rankin Road in Houston, TX, a 656,658 square foot build-to-suit for Conn’s HomePlus
- 2300 Century Boulevard in Northampton, PA, 264,600 square feet
- 160-180 Dulty’s Lane in Burlington, NJ, 441,380 square feet
- 12830 Virkler Drive in Charlotte, NC, 115,500 square feet
- 6043 Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, FL, 77,760 square feet
- 11230 NW 122nd Street in Medley, FL, 147,014 square feet
- Worcester Plot 2A in the United Kingdom, a 28,500 square foot development for Cornelius Beverage Technologies.
About Liberty Property Trust
Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT) is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior industrial and office properties. Liberty's 103 million square foot portfolio provides productive work environments for 1,200 tenants.
General Inquiries: Jeanne Leonard, Liberty Property Trust, 610.648.1704