Indianapolis Business Journal: Dozen-Plus Indy-Area Industrial Parks Sold to California Firm
By: Mickey Shuey
A California-based investment firm has acquired a portfolio of more than one dozen central Indiana industrial parks.
Berkeley Partners, an Oakland, California-based firm specializing in light-industrial assets in major U.S. markets, closed on its acquisition of the 13-park collection earlier this month. It bought the properties, collectively known as the Hoosier Infill Industrial Portfolio, from a joint venture of California firm Stos Partners and Cardinal Industrial, plus Boston-based Long Wharf Capital.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Berkeley Partners did not return an email requesting comment for this story.
The portfolio consists of 38 buildings that have a collective occupancy rate of 97.5%. The properties, which house 251 tenants across 1.28 million square feet, are located in Indianapolis, Fishers and Plainfield.
According to the Indianapolis office of Toronto-based brokerage Colliers, which represented the sellers in the sale, the average tenure for the properties’ tenants is more than eight years. That’s in part due to the fact that the product type—small-bay industrial—is scarce across central Indiana, representing about 5.5% of the market’s entire inventory.
The buildings have clearance heights ranging from 12 to 24 feet, with a mix of small and midsize units ranging from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet—nearly all of which have loading door availability.
The properties bought by Berkeley Partners are:
- Bash Business Center, 8481 and 8501 Bash St., Indianapolis
- Castle Point Trade Center, 8621-8677 Bash St., Indianapolis
- Fishers Trade Center, 14016-14076 Britton Park Road, Fishers
- Georgetown Business Center, 7210 and 7220 Georgetown Road, Indianapolis
- Hawthorn Business Park, 6846 Hawthorn Park Drive, Indianapolis
- MetroCentre, 6330 E. 75th St., Indianapolis
- North by Northeast, 9715 Kincaid Drive, 8700 and 8707 Roberts Drive, Fishers
- Park 421, 4305-4353 W. 96th St., Indianapolis
- Parkside Six, 12939-13053 Parkside Drive, Fishers
- Pendleton Trade Center, 7500 Pendleton Pike, Indianapolis
- Plainfield Trade Center, State Road 267 and Perimeter Parkway, Plainfield
- Uptown Village, 9325 and 9402 Uptown Drive, Indianapolis
- Victory Park Business Center, 5460 Victory Drive, Indianapolis
Most of the buildings within the portfolio were previously owned by the now-defunct Mann Properties, an Indianapolis-based commercial development firm. The buildings were largely purchased by Stos, Cardinal and Long Wharf between 2021 and early 2023, according to property records.
The firms also spent an undisclosed amount on improvements to the properties, including roof replacements, parking lot upgrades and exterior painting.
Jason Richards, a partner with Stos Partners, told IBJ that the joint venture was originally drawn to the buildings because of their scarcity in the market and the tendency for the product to lease well following improvements. He said that because of the typical size of the structures, they’re difficult to build new effectively. In fact, he said, ground-up construction would have cost “two to three times what we sold this product for” to Berkeley.
He said while the sale of the properties means an exit from the Indianapolis industrial market, it’s not something he anticipates will last long.
“Part of the draw to the opportunity [when we bought in] was the Indianapolis market, which has an industrial market we’re still very bullish on,” he said. “As one of the major metro markets that we target, this definitely has been and will continue to be something that we focus on. We don’t identify this market as having any major risks, as far as needing to shy away from investing there. But we also focus very carefully. We don’t kind of follow the herd, but are more opportunistic and entrepreneurial in our approach.”
The Colliers team on the deal for the sellers consisted of capital markets advisors Alex Cantu, Alex Davenport, Jeff Devine, Steve Disse and Tyler Ziebel, along with industrial brokers Tyler Wilson, Jason Speckman and Sydney Gabriel. Representatives for the buyer were not disclosed.