By Rachel Whaley CoStar Research
Demonstrating continued demand for infill facilities across the greater Philadelphia region, a recently redeveloped last-mile distribution center fully leased by Amazon in Levittown has sold for $21.3 million, more than double the price it fetched when it last traded hands in 2019.
Alliance HP sold the 149,180-square-foot Bucks County facility at 6300 Bristol Pike to an undisclosed publicly traded real estate investment trust. The Bryn Mawr-based firm originally paid $8.35 million for the Bristol Pike facility in December 2019.
Built in 1963, the last-mile distribution facility underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation between 2018 and 2019 to upgrade functionality. The renovated facility now features new exterior panels, new HVAC equipment, new car and trailer parking, expansion of vacant land for conversion to additional car and van parking, new LED lights and a new roof. Amazon leased the distribution center in October 2020.
The Amazon facility is situated on a 9.9-acre parcel that has immediate access to Interstates 95 and 476 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, providing the e-commerce titan access to nearly 2 million people within a 30-minute drive.
“This property is uniquely positioned within the highly regarded Bucks County submarket. The asset provides great, in-place cash flow from a credit e-commerce tenant that will be servicing the heavy concentration of population in the nearby area. The combination of the strong in-place cash flow and irreplaceable, forever location makes this a great investment for both the near term and future."
Philadelphia's industrial market faces some challenges, from the region's recently pummeled economy and from speculative construction. But retailers' ongoing shift to e-commerce sales and faster deliveries have been driving industrial leasing as tenants store most of their inventory in local logistics centers as close to their customers as they can.
"Since the pandemic began, Amazon alone has signed at least six large leases in the Philadelphia metro area, totaling over 2.8 million SF and has announced plans to accelerate its expansion of its distribution footprint," Ponsen wrote. "Meanwhile, tenants such as Target, Premier Packaging, Utopia Fulfillment, and Misfits Markets have also been growing into both old and new properties."
Philadelphia's industrial vacancy rate, hovering around 5%, remains near 25-year lows. The vacancy rate is even tighter in Bucks County, sitting at about 3.8%, according to CoStar data.
"Any sharp upturn in vacancy looks unlikely for the foreseeable future as distributors continue to realize the strategic advantages of locating in the Philadelphia area: a large blue-collar workforce located squarely between New York and Washington, D.C., right in the middle of the largest cluster of purchasing power in the western hemisphere."
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