Singaporean REIT Makes Big Chicago Industrial Buy In What Could Be A Wave Of U.S. Purchases
A Singaporean REIT has scooped up a 1.4M SF portfolio of industrial properties across metro Chicago, the company’s second major foray into the U.S. industrial market.
Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, Singapore’s largest listed REIT, will pay $99M for seven logistics facilities in Chicago suburbs. The transaction comes six months after Ascendas acquired a 2.1M SF Kansas City industrial portfolio for $156M.
Ascendas already owns logistics assets in Singapore, Australia and the UK, and a spokesperson for Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust told Commercial Property Executive its entry into the U.S. is an extension of its growth strategy in developed markets, buying well-located, highly occupied last-mile assets.
In a release, Ascendas pointed to Chicago’s position as the nation’s largest logistics property market, with an inventory of more than 1.2B SF, and as a central hub of air, rail and freight transport. It also cited strong logistics market fundamentals, noting the metro ranked first in the nation in terms of net absorption last year, per JLL, pushing past 2019 and 2020 combined.
The largest property in the portfolio, at 501 South Steward Road in Rochelle, is just over 579K SF, while the smallest is a 43K SF facility at 3950 Sussex Ave. in Aurora. Other purchased properties are in Roselle, Glendale Heights, Bensenville, Alsip and Broadview.
The portfolio is 100% occupied by 12 tenants with a weighted average lease expiry of five years, Ascendas CEO William Tay said in the release.
Ascendas told Commercial Property Executive it is likely just getting started in the U.S. and plans a string of industrial purchases to come.
“Including this latest portfolio of seven logistics properties in Chicago, our real estate portfolio in the U.S. is expected to be worth approximately $1.7 billion, comprising business spaces in tech cities — San Francisco, San Diego, Raleigh, N.C., Portland, Ore. — and logistics properties,” the spokesperson told the publication. “We will continue to source for good quality properties in these asset classes to scale up and strengthen the portfolio.”
