Blackstone Exploring Purchase Of 11 Warehouses Near JFK Airport
Blackstone Group, just two months after buying millions of square feet of industrial assets across the country, is doubling down on New York City warehouses.
The private equity giant is in talks to buy 11 warehouses near John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, Crain’s New York Business reports.
TA Realty owns the properties, and the 11 properties are piece of Blackstone’s plan to buy assets from the company in several states, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, California and Texas. Sales prices were not clear, but the buildings range between 6K SF and nearly 100K SF. The properties in this portfolio are spread out between 145th and 182nd streets.
“If you look at the cargo numbers at JFK, it has one of the largest volumes of air cargo in the world, and demand is surging,” Segis Property Group partner Omer Mir Ahmed, whose company owns airport properties, told Crain’s. "That’s really what a deal like this is all about.”
The industrial sector has been red-hot in recent years, thanks to the economic expansion and e-commerce market disruption driving demand. However, despite high rents and the fact that demand is still outstripping supply — some investors are growing cautious about the kinds of deals they go after.
In June, Blackstone announced its purchase of a 179M SF portfolio of U.S. industrial assets from Singapore's GLP for $18.7B. GLP entered the U.S. logistics market when it bought a 117M SF industrial portfolio from Blackstone, IndCor, for $8.1B in 2014.
