Trends & Insights

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the sale of 23745 Pebble Run Place in Sterling, Virginia. The 6,000-square-foot industrial property is fully leased to Herc Rentals. The asset was built in 2017 and features an equipment service bay area. Stan Johnson Company’s Zach Harris represented the seller, a private investor based in Hawaii. A New York-based private equity firm acquired the asset for approximately $4.2 million reflecting a 5.26 percent cap rate. “For this transaction, we ran a targeted private placement process and were able to court a very qualified private equity firm that recently raised a new fund to target well-located industrial outdoor storage (IOS) assets nationwide,” said Harris, Director in Stan Johnson Company’s Tulsa, Oklahoma headquarters. “The purchaser was very attracted to the strong location in the Sterling submarket near Dulles, understood the long-term residual value of this asset and are excited to add a tenant like Herc to their portfolio.” Situated on 3.17 acres, the property is located in a highly populated and affluent area, west of Washington D.C., near Dulles International Airport. The facility features a fully fenced outdoor equipment storage yard, a finished office space, an on-site fueling station and a charging station for electrical equipment. Herc Rentals operates on a double net lease.

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the sale of a three-building industrial facility fully leased to Priority Bicycles, a New York City-based online retailer. Located at 165-169 Miller Avenue and 79 Thomas Avenue in Montgomery, Pennsylvania, the adjoining buildings total more than 97,000 square feet of warehouse and distribution space. Tom Georges of Stan Johnson Company represented the seller, a New York-based individual investor. The asset was purchased by a 1031 exchange buyer out of California for approximately $2.9 million.  “We were able to generate multiple quality offers within just a few days of bringing the property to market,” said Georges, Director in Stan Johnson Company’s New York office. “This property is a great fit for the buyer, and our client ultimately accepted a full-price offer.”  Located about an hour southwest of Scranton and north of Harrisburg, the mission-critical facility was originally built in 1930 and last renovated in 2020. The site comprises 1.15 acres, and the tenant operates on a newly extended, long-term triple net lease. Priority Bicycles launched in 2014 via a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of raising $30,000 to fund their first shipment. The goal was reached after just a few hours, and the company is now known for being featured in a Microsoft Teams commercial that premiered during the 2021 Super Bowl. 

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the sale of a single-tenant industrial building leased to Collins Aerospace, a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. The 90,499-square-foot manufacturing building is located at 2599 Empire Drive in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Jonathan Ameen of Stan Johnson Company represented the buyer, a New York-based individual investor who acquired the asset for $11.4 million. Maggie Holmes of Stan Johnson Company represented the seller, a REIT based in Dallas, Texas.  “This represents a generational asset for my client and an attractive disposition for the seller in the midst of interest rate headwinds,” said Ameen, Director in Stan Johnson Company’s Tulsa, Oklahoma headquarters. “Yet another reminder that the market for critical industrial assets is still very strong.”  The well-maintained facility sits on 5.5 acres and features concrete tilt-up construction, 13 loading docks and high ceilings ranging from 28 to 34 feet. Collins Aerospace has operated the facility for fourteen years and has invested nearly $2.0 million for upgrades and renovations to its assembly and distribution lines. The lease is fully guaranteed by the tenant’s parent company, Raytheon Technologies, a top three global defense contractor with 2021 annual revenues of $64.6 billion. 

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the sale of a childcare and education property located at 98 Yorktown Mall Road in Lombard, Illinois. The 16,216-square-foot early education property sold for $9.2 million. The property is currently leased to The Gardner School, an academically focused early childhood education center for ages six weeks to five years with locations across seven states. BJ Feller of Stan Johnson Company represented the buyer, a local private investor. The seller was a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based investor.  “This property represented an excellent chance for a long-standing repeat client of our team to add another well-positioned and strong performing childcare asset to their portfolio as part of their tax deferred exchange,” said Feller, Managing Director and Partner in Stan Johnson Company’s Chicago, Illinois office. “The Gardner School is one of the premier up-and-coming childcare operators across the United States, and this location in the western suburbs of Chicago is perfectly situated to thrive for years to come.”  The newly built school is situated on 1.43 acres in the quiet, family-friendly suburban community. The property is one of 11 locations in the Chicago area and is located near the Yorktown Center shopping district, convenient for families who live and work in DuPage County. The education center features spacious classrooms, indoor and outdoor play areas as well as significant security features. 

Originally published by GlobeSt Margaret Caldwell recently took three women on the cusp of their careers to dinner. One of the young women, fresh from graduation at UC Berkeley, asked Caldwell what the most important part of her career has been. Her answer?  “While I could talk about all of the successes and deals I’ve closed in the last 22 years – which total around $17 billion – the most important time in my career was the first five years,” notes Caldwell, managing director and partner at Stan Johnson Company in Atlanta who specializes in the sales of multi-tenant retail shopping centers. “That’s when I learned the skills I needed to be successful.”  Caldwell began her career as a financial analyst at Legg Mason in Washington, DC, before being recruited at age 25 to be a producer in the firm’s Charlotte office. She remembers being told on her first day that she’d be responsible for generating her own production with no support.  “I felt like I had been dropped in the deep end without water wings,” she says. But in hindsight, “this was one of the best learning experiences ever for someone with my personality. The word ‘no’ from potential clients made me work harder.”  The experience taught Caldwell to cold call, network and establish the foundational relationships that would be crucial to her later successes at firms like Binswanger, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL and now Stan Johnson Company, where she’s been for almost three years.  Caldwell acknowledges that “every day in this business is a challenge,” but says her ability to solve problems quickly and on her feet, coupled with strong math and writing skills, have helped her stand out.  “When I started in this business, for many years there were very few women,” she says. “I have enjoyed training other women on my team about the business, and now a good number of my clients are women. The numbers of women in commercial real estate are significantly increasing – and the proof was all of the successful women in the room in Deer Valley at the Women of Influence conference.”  Her advice for young professionals starting off on their commercial real estate career is direct and straightforward: build on your skills. And if you don’t have a skill, “you need to go get it or surround yourself with a good team,” she says, adding that ultimately, success comes from within.  “If I had to do it all over again, I would pick the same career path,” Caldwell says.  © 2022 ALM Global Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. 

Orginally published by GlobeSt The single-tenant net lease sector has passed its peak performance, based on Q2 data from Stan Johnson Company.  With rising interest rates and rampant inflation, net lease investors have been watching the market very closely, keeping note of cap rate compression, sales volume, and buyer demand.  “This could be the last quarter before we start to see a reversal of [the cap rate compression] trend,” according to Lanie Beck, Stan Johnson Company Director of Corporate Research, Marketing & Communications.  “Deals being priced today will influence closing cap rates reported for third quarter 2022 and beyond, so investors must keep in mind the lagging nature of this statistic.”  In the last three months, the overall average cap rate declined 10bps and has now been below the 6%-mark for a full 12 months, Beck noted.  Q2 activity marked a decline for a second straight period, falling 35% from Q1; YOY, volume is down 17% from Q2 2021, according to the report.  Construction Low Compared to Historical Norms  Doug Ressler, Yardi Matrix, tells GlobeSt.com, “The single-tenant net lease sector is well positioned for improving fundamentals this year as construction remains low versus historical norms and more companies evolve creative hybrid office plans. This scenario is resulting in quicker rent growth in trophy office properties to backfill spaces.”  Ressler said to look for investors to focus on tenants that demonstrated resilience during lockdowns, mixed-use and adaptive reuse and that REITs are also targeting assets with high credit grade tenants and longer lease terms.  Chris Maling, principal with Avison Young, tells GlobeSt.com that while sales in the QSR sector are down to comparative quarters, this is temporary due to inflation-related shock.   “Now that consumers are experiencing inflationary pressures, we will likely see more sales at QSRs due to price-point considerations in order to feed their families,” Maling said. “Many will forgo sit-down concepts and other higher price point options. Overall, the forecast is strong for increased sales and net revenue for Q3 and Q4 of 2022.”  © 2022 ALM Global Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. 

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the sale of a single-tenant industrial facility leased to FedEx Ground. The 217,323-square-foot property serves as a distribution center for the multinational company. Erik Lundberg of Stan Johnson Company represented the 1031 exchange buyer, an investor group based in New Jersey. The seller was a Texas-based developer. The asset sold for approximately $37.0 million.  “Despite a challenging interest rate market, we were able to bring a motivated buyer who performed at the top of market pricing,” said Lundberg, Associate Director in Stan Johnson Company’s Tulsa, Oklahoma headquarters.   The facility is newly built and replaced a smaller FedEx Ground warehouse. The 33-acre site is easily accessible to major highways, distribution centers and the community workforce. With a demand surge for FedEx services, this facility helps meet the need for the Midwest region.  

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the ground lease sale of a two-property portfolio in Durham, North Carolina. Located at 1510 and 1700 North Pointe Drive, the single-tenant retail properties are leased to Costco and Home Depot and total 148,660 square feet and 120,000 square feet, respectively. Jason Maier of Stan Johnson Company represented the buyer, a New York-based private investor, in the 1031 exchange. A developer based in Virginia sold the property for approximately $24.0 million.  “We felt this was an excellent long term hold for our client that will provide stability of income given the reliability of Home Depot and Costco in addition to long term appreciation,” said Maier, Director in Stan Johnson Company’s New York office. “Our client now controls 38 acres just 1.8 miles from Duke University’s main campus.”  Located in the North Durham submarket, the properties are two anchor tenants in the North Pointe Shopping Center. The power center serves a customer base of approximately 94,000 residents in a three-mile radius. Strategically located in a dense retail corridor with freeway visibility, neighboring tenants include Harris Teeter, PetSmart, Ross Dress for Less and many more national retailers.