Dealmaker: Cushman & Wakefield Closes $158M in Multifamily, Industrial

March 13, 2019

Cushman & Wakefield, New York, closed multifamily and industrial transactions totaling $158.2 million.

The firm arranged the $106.7 million sale of an 18-property southeastern U.S. multifamily portfolio. Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Director Tyler Averitt and Director Craig Hey represented seller Varden Capital Properties, Atlanta, in the deal. The Walden Group, Jackson, N.J. acquired 1,858 units in the transaction.

“This was a unique situation where two key private capital clients were able to do a mutually favorable cross-market portfolio sale,” Hey said. “Varden Capital Properties was able to amass the portfolio by purchasing properties that were more complicated executions than the average buyer would be willing to do.”

Averitt noted the portfolio timing allowed The Walden Group to line up dispositions through Cushman & Wakefield so it acquired many of the assets with tax-free 1031 money, compounding their its equity partners’ initial investment.

The properties in the portfolio included seven apartment properties across Alabama, five properties in Pensacola, Fla., three Tennessee assets, a 200-unit property in Pascagoula, Miss., one 203-unit property in Winston-Salem, N.C. and a 223-unit property in Houston.

The firm also arranged $51.5 million that enabled Bergen Shippers Corp. to refinance two mortgages on its 730,000-square-foot Bergen Logistics warehouse properties at 5903 and 7300 Westside Ave. in North Bergen, N.J.

JPMorgan Chase, New York, supplied a $44 million senior mortgage to refinance current debt and a $7.5 million line of credit.

Cushman Equity, Debt and Structured Finance team members John Alascio, Mark Ehlinger and TJ Sullivan advised Bergen Shippers Corp., supported by industrial leasing specialist Bonni Heller.

Built for Liz Claiborne in 1987, 5903 Westside Ave. is a four-story, 600,000-square-foot industrial warehouse. 7300 Westside Ave. is a single-story, 130,000-square-foot warehouse also owned and operated by Bergen Logistics.