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Central PA’s Largest Commercial Real Estate Sales of 2019

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Mike Kushner in Blog, Commercial Real Estate, Industrial, Local Market, Office Leasing, Retail, Trends No Comments

There is much we can learn by analyzing a market’s largest commercial real estate sales in a given year. Looking at each the industrial, retail, and office sectors, it’s interesting to see the varying demand for size, price and class from sector-to-sector. This tells us a lot of about the direction of economic growth for a region; and for a real estate investor, it also showcases where the best investment opportunities for the future may lie.

Here is a look at the largest commercial real estate sales that took place in Central Pennsylvania in 2019, grouped by sector and sorted by highest sell price.

INDUSTRIAL

400-500 S. Muddy Creek Road – Albertsons Distribution Center (Lancaster County)

U.S. Realty Advisors purchased the Albertsons distribution facility for $117,050,000, or approximately $76 per foot for the 1,539,407-square-foot property on January 2, 2019. The subject Albertsons Industrial portfolio is comprised of a dry bulk/cold storage facilities in Denver, PA and in Melrose, IL. The sole tenant of the portfolio is Albertsons and they signed a 20-year lease with nine five-year extension options (and a one-year extension option) as part of the sale-leaseback transaction. Albertsons is under an Absolute Net lease paying $5/sf in base rent. Their lease requires that the tenant is responsible for operating expenses, real estate taxes, utilities, repairs, maintenance and capital expenditures, in addition to its obligation to pay base rent.

221 S. 10^th Street – (Cumberland County)

This 885,802 SF, class B industrial warehouse sold on September 26, 2019 to Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust for $84.8 million, or $96 per square foot. The sale is part of an industrial portfolio (see #4 below). At a total price of $18.7 billion, this sale of 179 million square feet of urban, infill logistics assets constitute the largest private real estate transaction in history. The portfolio includes high-quality logistics assets across 36 major U.S. markets that GLP aggregated over the past four years.

2601 River Road – Turkey Hill (Lancaster County)

W.P. Carey purchased the Turkey Hill food production and distribution facility for $70 million, or approximately $170 per foot for the 412,248-square-foot property on June 27, 2019. Built in 1980, Turkey Hill leased back the property for 25 years; the lease is triple net, with annual escalations. The buyer reported a weighted average cap rate of 7.1% for their acquisitions for the quarter, which totaled approximately $123.5 million, indicating this was probably priced in the 6s as the largest acquisition. The site was described as mission critical for the tenant, which has invested in many additions and improvements. It was noted that the site is powered through clean energy sources including wind turbines and hydroelectric energy. Turkey Hill had been a division of Kroger, but was sold earlier in the year to Peak Rock Capital.

21 Roadway Drive – (Cumberland County)

On September 26, 2019, Global Logistics Properties Ltd sold the class B industrial facility for $53.5 million, or $96 per square foot. The buyer was Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust. The 558,700 square-foot industrial facility was built on 36.16-acre site with an 8-acre pad site available to be developed into a 150,000 SF facility. The sale is comprised of an industrial portfolio totaling 64 million SF that Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust acquired located throughout the U.S. The sales price was reported at $5.3 billion. The portfolio was 95% leased at the time of the sale. The sale is part of a larger transaction in which Blackstone Real Estate Partners fund acquired 115 million SF for $13.4 billion; therefore, the overall sales price was reported at $18.7 billion for 179 million SF among two translations.

RETAIL

950 Walnut Bottom Road – Stonehedge Square Shopping Center (Cumberland County)

On November 25, 2019, this 88,657 square foot Giant anchored grocery center was sold for $30.7 million, or $346 per square foot to RW Partners, Inc.

2547 Brindle Drive – Shoppes At Susquehanna Marketplace (Dauphin County)

On April 1, 2019, The Shoppes at Susquehanna Marketplace in Harrisburg, PA were sold to an individual investor for $33.5 million, or $305 per square foot. The 110,000-square-foot shopping center was completed in 2004 and about 98% occupied by 25 tenants at the time of the sale. It was previously owned by a joint venture between Clarion Partners and Bayer Properties. The property was initially listed in January 2019 with an asking price of $38.17 million.

235-295 Cumberland Parkway – Parkway Plaza Shopping Center (Cumberland County)

On November 25, 2019, this 82,599 square foot Giant anchored grocery center was sold for $22.3 million or $270 per square foot. Parkway Plaza and Stonehedge Square (see #1) were part of a portfolio of Giant supermarket-anchored shopping centers in mid-to eastern Pennsylvania sold to RW Partners, Inc. for $127,000,000. The Giant grocery stores make up approximately 75% of this portfolio’s gross leasable area generate 80% of the portfolio’s revenue.

903-905 Loucks Road – Two Guys Commons (York County)

On August 19, 2019, Urban Edge Properties sold Two Guys Commons to Vastgood Properties, LLC for $13.15 million, or about $119 per square foot. At the time of the sale, the 110,980-square-foot retail property was fully leased to five tenants which included Crunch Fitness, Aldi, Ashley Furniture HomeStore, Tractor Supply, and Old Country Buffet. Based on in-place NOI, the transaction yielded a cap rate of about 7.5%.

OFFICE

100 Crystal A Drive – The Hershey Company (Dauphin County)

The three class B office buildings totaling 239,089 SF were sold on December 2, 2019 to the Penn State Medical Group for $28,445,835. Built in 1991, the buildings were sold by The Hershey Company for $118.98 per square foot. The seller was motivated to sell the property as they moved their operation into their corporate headquarters. The buildings will serve as Penn State Health headquarters and allow for moving some personnel from the Hershey Medical Center campus, creating space there to allow for expanded clinical services. Penn State Health leased office space in 2017 at that time The Hershey Company gave option purchase rights to the building. Penn State Health exercised their option to purchase the building.

425 N. 21^st Street – Plaza 21 (Cumberland County)

This 62,304 SF class B Office Building sold on September 16, 2019 to J & R Investments, Inc. for $9,300,000. Built in 1970 and renovated in 2009, this building was sold by Select Capital Commercial Properties for $149.27 per square foot. The building is leased to primarily to Geisinger System Services.

2400 Thea Drive – Synertech Building (Dauphin County)

On December 2nd, 2019, Istar Harrisburg LP sold the building in Harrisburg PA, to Real Capital Solutions, Inc for $9,100,000 or approximately $43.94 per square foot. The subject property is a 207,115, four-story class B office building located at 2400 Thea Dr in Harrisburg, PA 17110. The building sits on a 10.62-acre lot. It was constructed in 1999.

305 N. Front Street – (Dauphin County)

On July 17, 2019, this 120,000 SF office property was sold by Harrisburg Riverfront Development to Select Capital Commercial Properties for $7,950,000 or $65 per square foot. Built in 1989, this property sits on 1.2 acres

Closing Thoughts

In Central Pennsylvania and across the nation, it’s fair to say that the commercial real estate market delivered its fair share of ups and downs. Now that we’ve taken a closer look at the largest industrial, retail and office real estate sales of 2019, there are a few interesting points worth noting in each sector.

Industrial – Industrial real estate continues to lead all other real estate sectors with $1.2 billion in sales volume in 2019. The average price was $56.80 per square-foot, with the average property selling for $7.15 million.

Retail – A total of $200 million was invested in Central PA’s retail real estate market in 2019, a decrease from 2018. The average sale price was $142 per square foot.

Office – Annual volume levels for Central PA’s office real estate market stayed consistent with 2018 with $270 million in total sales. The average office property sold for $1.16 million. The average sales price was $102 per square foot.

What do you feel is the most important or interesting trend to emerge from the largest commercial real estate sales to take place in Central Pennsylvania in 2019? Share your thoughts by commenting below.

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Power Landlords Part II: Who Owns the Most Industrial Space in Central PA?

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Mike Kushner in Blog, Industrial, Local Market No Comments

You might think that Central Pennsylvania is defined by its natural resources or agriculture, or maybe you don’t think we’re known for much of anything. The truth is that there is a lot this region brings to the economy with our industrial market being one of the country’s top core industrial markets.

If this surprises you, consider the following. This particular region is well positioned along the nationally-recognized I-81 transportation corridor with immediate connections to I-78, I-76, I-83 and I-80, as well as immediate access to major deep-water ports at New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia and Baltimore. With our ability to provide manufacturers and distributors access to nearly 70% of the total consumer markets in North America within one day’s drive, the region has benefitted from significant demand, especially most recently with the emergence of the e-commerce which promises customers even faster ship times.

Additionally, nearly 8 million square feet of new Class A regional and super regional distribution facilities are under construction. Even with this much new space entering the market, vacancy rates remain right around 5% which is well below the historical market standard of 7%. Combine all of this with a backlog of millions of square feet of new tenant requirements in the market, and you can see why Central PA’s industrial real estate market is ripe for opportunity among investors and landlords.

So, who owns the most industrial space in the market? The combined square footage of the top 5 landlords in Central PA is 32,820,237 square-feet of space. Moreover, the combined vacant square-footage for all of this space is just 2,448,898 square-feet or 7%. So, who are these power landlords and what buildings account for most of this space? Let’s take a deeper dive.

Prologis Inc.

It should come at no surprise that Prologis Inc. tops this list with its portfolio of 22 industrial buildings. Combined, this accounts for 11,242,938 square-feet of real estate. The largest building, which is Key Logistics Park located at 950 Centerville Road in Newville, is home to 1,170,000 square-feet of industrial space.

Global Logistics Properties, Ltd. (GIC Real Estate)

Next on the list is Global Logistics Properties, Ltd. with 19 buildings and 7,075,922 square-feet of real estate. The largest of these buildings is Lemoyne Industrial Park located at 221. S. 10^th Street in Lemoyne which is 885,802 square-feet of industrial space.

Clarion Partners

With 10 buildings totaling 5,676,191 square-feet, Clarion Partners ranks number three on our list of “Power Landlords” in Central PA. Their largest building, located at 1 True Temper Drive in Carlisle, is 1,226,525 square-feet in size.

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.

At number four we have First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. Their portfolio of 15 buildings accounts for 4,804,210 square-feet of industrial real estate. The largest building, 1,100,000 square-feet in size, is located at 5197 Commerce Drive in York.

Liberty Property Trust

Coming in at number five on the list is Liberty Property Trust with 7 buildings totaling 4,020,976 square-feet of industrial space in the Central PA region. Their largest building, which is the Carlisle Distribution Center located at 40 Logistics Drive in Carlisle, is 972,000 square-feet.

It can be hard to wrap your head around these numbers and the amount of industrial space that is located right here in Central PA. Often, these are huge buildings we drive by daily but fail to notice unless we pay attention. The products that are made in and shipped from these facilities impact the global economy and provide us with every item imaginable, from basic essentials to toys and tools to match a wide variety of hobbies. So the next time you drive by the Key Logistics Park in Newville or the Carlisle Distribution Center, you now have a little more intel into who the power landlords are behind these massive facilities.

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Central PA’s Largest Commercial Real Estate Sales of 2018

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Mike Kushner in Blog, Commercial Real Estate, Industrial, Local Market, Office Leasing, Trends No Comments

Central PA’s Largest Commercial Real Estate Sales of 2018

There is much we can learn by analyzing a market’s largest commercial real estate sales in a given year. Looking at each the industrial, retail and office sectors, it’s interesting to see the varying demand for size, price and class from sector-to-sector. This tells us a lot of about the direction of economic growth for a region; and for a real estate investor, it also showcases where the best investment opportunities for the future may lie.

Here is a look at the largest commercial real estate sales that took place in Central Pennsylvania in 2018, grouped by sector and sorted by highest sell price.

INDUSTRIAL

1. 2 Ames Drive – Amazon (Carlisle)

This 700,000 SF, Class A industrial distribution building sold on December 20, 2018 to MetLife Real Estate Investments for $74,600,000. Built in 2012, this building was sold by American Realty Advisors for $106.57 per square foot. The price represents a 4.89% cap rate. American Realty Advisors had acquired the property in 2015 for $62.475 million.

2. 3700-3900 Industrial Rd – Supervalu (Harrisburg)

This 750,000 SF, Class B industrial building sold on May 1, 2018 to Fortress Investment Group LLC for $38,373,479. Built in 1985 and renovated in 1999, this building was sold by Supervalu Inc. for $51.16 per square foot. The lease agreements between Supervalu and the new landlord had an initial term for 20 years, with five five-year renewal options on a triple-net lease.

3. 6345 Brackbill Blvd – Exel Logistics (Mechanicsburg)

This 507,634 SF, Class B industrial warehouse sold on April 5, 2018 to Penwood Real Estate Investment Management, LLC for $33,100,000. Built in 1985, this building was sold by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for $66.20 per square foot. The price represents about a 6.15% cap rate on in-place income.

4. 102 Roadway Drive – Saia, Inc. (Carlisle)

This 61,658 SF, Class C, truck terminal along with 40 acres was sold in October 2018 to Saia for $32,000,000. The additional acreage pushed the sales price to over $518 per square foot. YRC, the seller, still owns and occupies the larger industrial building next to this property.

5. 571 Independence Ave – Upper Allen Business Park (Mechanicsburg)

This 378,000 SF, Class B industrial warehouse sold on August 22, 2018 to Prologis, Inc. for $24,971,824. Built in 1999, this building was part of a portfolio sold by DCT Industrial Trust for $66.06 per square foot. Prologis, Inc., a global leader in logistics real estate, acquired DCT in an all-stock acquisition of for $8.5 billion, including the assumption of debt.

RETAIL

1. 6416 Carlisle Pike – Silver Spring Square (Mechanicsburg)

This 342,603 SF power center anchored by Wegmans was sold on April 17, 2018 to The Wilder Companies for $88,810,000. Built in 2007, this building was sold by Silver Spring Square, LLC for $235.87 per square foot. The price represents an in-place cap rate of 7%.

2. 830-870 N. US Route 15 – The Dillsburg Shopping Center (Dillsburg)

This 162,783 SF neighborhood center was sold on September 24, 2018 to Vastgood Properties, LLC for $24,400,000. Built in 1994 and renovated in 2002, this property was sold by Brixmoor Property Group for $149.89 per square foot. The property traded at a 6.333% cap rate.

3. 5301 Simpson Ferry Rd – Giant (Mechanicsburg)

This 51,394 SF retail property sold on August 17, 2018 to Patriot Equity Partners, LLC for $17,540,000. Built in 2004, this property was sold by Exchange Right Real Estate, LLC for $341.28 per square foot.

4. 130 Kline Village – Kline Plaza (Harrisburg)

This 214,628 SF community center was sold to Nassimi Realty Corp. on December 12, 2018 for $8,700,000. Built in 1952, this property was sold by Brixmoor Property Group for $40.54 per square foot. The price represents a 10% in-place cap rate.

5. 1313 Kenneth Road – Dick’s Sporting Goods (York)

This 55,200 SF retail property was sold to the Stewart Companies on December 27, 2018 for $6,250,000. Built in 1988, this property was sold by First Capital Realty Inc. for $113.22 per square foot.

OFFICE

1. 1920 Technology Pky – Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (Mechanicsburg)

This 100,000 SF Class B Office Building sold on December 3, 2018 to Boyd Watterson Asset Management for $26,950,000. Built in 2010, this building was sold by Hudson Companies for $269.50 per square foot at a 7.5% cap rate. The building is fully leased to the PA Dept of Corrections.

2. 1250 Camp Hill Bypass (Camp Hill)

This 84,000 SF Class B Office Building sold on November 27, 2018 to Waterday Properties for $19,750,000. Built in 2015, this building was sold by Hoffer Properties for $235.12 per square foot. The building is leased to Hewlett Packard and Medical Mutual.

3. 1 Trinity Dr E – UPMC Pinnacle FamilyCare (Dillsburg)

This 43,212 SF Class B Medical Building sold on August 9, 2018 to Hammes Partners for $19,000,000. Built in 2008, this building was sold by Anchor Commercial Realty for $439.69 per square foot. The MOB is occupied by UPMC Pinnacle and Presbyterian Senior Living.

4. 909 Elmerton Ave – Pennsylvania DEP South Central Regional HQ (Harrisburg)

This 73,101 SF Class B Office Building sold on August 2, 2018 to Boyd Watterson Asset Management for $14,500,000. Built in 1998, this building was sold by Elmerton 909, LP for $198.36 per square foot. The building is fully occupied by the PA Dept of Environmental Protection.

5. 3801 Paxton Street (Harrisburg)

This 61,198 SF Class A Office Building sold on January 31, 2018 to Arthur L. Walters Co. for $8,425,000. Built in 2006 and updated in 2017, this building was sold by Thomas A. Salvaggio for $137.67 per square foot. The property traded at a 6.86% cap rate.

Closing Thoughts

In Central Pennsylvania and across the nation, it’s fair to say that the commercial real estate market delivered its fair share of ups and downs. Now that we’ve taken a closer look at the largest industrial, retail and office real estate sales of 2018, there are a few interesting points worth noting in each sector.

Industrial – Industrial real estate continues to lead all other real estate sectors with $529 million in sales volume in 2018. The average price was $60 per square-foot, with the average property selling for $4.2 million with a 6.3% cap rate.

Retail – A total of $346 million was invested in Central PA’s retail real estate market in 2018, an increase over 2016 and 2017. The average sale price was $107per square-foot with a 7.5% cap rate.

Office – Annual volume levels for Central PA’s office real estate market were trending down for 3 years running, but 2018 rebounded with $266 million in total sales. The average office property sold for $1.4 million with 8.2% cap rate. Two of the top five largest office sales to take place in 2018 were buildings leased to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Given the largest and most notable commercial real estate sales that took place in Central PA in 2018, do you notice any other trends this might indicate? Share your insights below by leaving a comment.

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High Rental Rates, Low Vacancy Define Central Pennsylvania Industrial Market

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Mike Kushner in Blog, Industrial, Local Market, Trends No Comments

Central PA’s submarket clusters for industrial real estate have some of the lowest vacancy rates and highest rental rates we have seen in recent years.

It’s the news that every commercial real estate developer and investor want to hear – the industrial real estate market in Central Pennsylvania ended Q2 2018 with some of the highest rental rates and lowest vacancy rates the market has experienced since 2014.

Now, it hasn’t been a steady climb over the last four years. Rather there’s been quite a bit of volatility in the market, with numbers bouncing up and down and up and down. However, it does appear that the extreme peaks and valleys have evened out and a more stable, yet steadily growing industrial real market has emerged in Central PA – at least for the present moment.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most interesting trends and numbers reported from CoStar’s Q1 2018 report for Harrisburg/Carlisle, Lancaster and York/Hanover Submarket Clusters.

Harrisburg/Carlisle Submarket Cluster

Vacancy – The industrial vacancy rate for the Harrisburg/Carlisle Submarket Cluster fell significantly from Q1 2018 where it was previously 9.4% to its now 7.9%. This is the largest drop between a single quarter that the market has seen since prior to Q3 2014. In fact, starting with Q2 2017, the industrial vacancy rate for the Harrisburg/Carlisle Submarket Cluster has been quite volatile, swinging up and down by sometimes more than one percentage point in a quarter.

Absorption – The pattern of volatility in the Harrisburg/Carlisle Submarket Cluster continues with its net absorption. Though the market ended 2017 at a positive 2,692,866 square-feet, in Q1 2018 this dropped to a negative (2,132,086) square-feet, mostly due to a single building of 1,100,000 square-feet that was delivered that same quarter. Now in Q2 2018, net absorption is back in the positive at 1,385,445 square-feet with no new buildings delivered this quarter.

Rental Rates – The average quoted asking rental rate for available industrial space is $4.98. This has been steadily increasing ever since it experienced a drop in Q2 2017 where it dropped from $4.61 to $4.46 in one quarter. Now at almost $5.00 per square foot of space, the Harrisburg/Carlisle Submarket Cluster’s rental rates for industrial space is the highest it has been since prior to Q3 2014.

Inventory – As mentioned above, no new buildings were delivered this quarter, or in all of 2018. Three buildings are currently under construction, totaling 2,951,468 square-feet of new space. It’s estimated that these properties will not be delivered until early 2019.

Lancaster Submarket Cluster

Vacancy – The vacancy rate for the Lancaster Submarket Cluster in Q2 2018 held steady at 1.9%, the same as it was in Q1 2018. In fact, it has changed minimally from the 2.0% that Q4 2017 ended with. Previous to these last three quarters, there has been a lot more change from quarter to quarter in the Lancaster Submarket Cluster’s vacancy rate. To be this low, and this consistent for three quarters indicates a stable market with supply and demand near evenly matched.

Absorption – As for net absorption, Q2 2018 ended with a positive 2,723 square-feet. This is a drop of 127,888 square feet from Q1’s net absorption of 130,611 square-feet. After experiencing two quarters of negative net absorption in Q2 and Q3 2017, and rebounding to positive 354,056 square-feet in Q4, this is now the third quarter that net absorption has continued to drop, though still a positive number – for now.

Rental Rates – The quoted asking rental rate for available industrial space in the Lancaster Submarket Cluster took a hit this quarter when it dropped from $4.74 to $4.57 per square foot. The trend in rental rates have been up and down and up and down over the course of the last four years. While it peaked at $5.15 per square foot in Q4 2016, it has never been able to return to that high and is now trending downward, inching closer to the numbers we saw in early 2015.

Inventory – One new building was delivered this quarter, adding 35,768 square-feet of new space to the industrial market. There are no other buildings currently under construction in the Lancaster Submarket Cluster.

York/Hanover Submarket Cluster

Vacancy – The industrial vacancy rate for the York/Hanover Submarket Cluster dipped ever so slightly this quarter from 4.4% in Q1 2018 to its current 4.3%. This is the lowest vacancy has been in over a year when it was also 4.3% in Q1 2017. From that point, the vacancy rate was on the rise, peaking at 5.0% in Q4 2017, then dropping 0.6% points to 4.4% in Q1 2018.

Absorption – Q2 2018 ended with a net absorption of 125,766 square-feet. Looking at Q1’s net absorption of 396,112 square-feet, this is a drop of 270,345 square-feet in a single quarter. Between these two quarters only one new building of 30,000 square feet was delivered to the market.

Rental Rates – The Lancaster Submarket Cluster ended Q2 2018 with a quoted asking rental rate of $4.28. This is $0.14 higher than it was in Q1 and $0.22 higher than in Q4 2017. In fact, this is the highest rental rate this submarket cluster has seen since prior to Q3 2014 with it near steadily rising during that entire period.

Inventory – Only one new building was delivered in Q2 2018 and that added 30,000 square-feet of industrial space to the market. There are currently no new buildings under construction at this time.

Key Takeaways

Given all the activity taking place in the various Central PA submarket clusters, there are particular insights that are important to note. First, we can expect vacancies to remain at record lows for the remainder of 2018, despite a further uptick in new construction. Additionally, E-commerce sales grew 15.2% in Q2 2018, compared with the same time last year and now represent 9% of total sales. E-commerce will continue to be a driving force in the foreseeable future.

While indicators point to strong demand, there are headwinds increasing from labor shortages and tariffs. With the economy at or near full employment, site selection decisions and supply chain nodes may be driven out to secondary and tertiary markets. Finally, it is too early to predict the exact impact of tariffs on the industrial market, but we can look for potential declines in import and export levels.

Looking at the comparison of the three Central Pennsylvania submarket clusters, which do you feel has the strongest industrial real estate market right now? What changes do you anticipate taking place throughout the rest of 2018?

Share your ideas by leaving a comment below!

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10 Facts Any Commercial Real Estate Investor Should Know about Central PA’s Industrial Market

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Mike Kushner in Blog, Commercial Real Estate, Industrial, Local Market No Comments

10 Facts Any Commercial Real Estate Investor Should Know about Central PA’s Industrial Market

Central PA’s industrial real estate market is unique for a variety of different reasons. Taking into consideration its geographic, demographic and economic factors, we’ve compiled a list of what we feel are the most important facts worth knowing about our local industrial market.

If you are a commercial real estate investor, or simply someone who wants to know more about Central Pennsylvania’s commercial real estate market, you are sure to find this list of top 10 facts both valuable and interesting. Let’s take a look!

Harrisburg-York-Lebanon CSA is 3rd most populous in PA and 43rd most populous in U.S.

The Harrisburg-York-Lebanon Combined Statistical Area (CSA) is made up of six counties and includes four metropolitan areas in Central Pennsylvania. In 2010, the CSA’s population was 1,233,708 people, making it the 3^rd most populous CSA in PA and the 43rd most populous CSA in the U.S. The Harrisburg-York-Lebanon CSA includes the following Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs): Harrisburg-Carlisle, Lebanon, Gettysburg and York-Hanover.

Harrisburg area puts up strong competition against Lehigh Valley.

Though Lehigh Valley is commonly recognized as Pennsylvania’s leader in warehousing and distribution, Harrisburg delivered only 600,000 SF less than Allentown in 2017, while also generating roughly the same rent growth. Additionally, companies such as Whirlpool, Amazon, Ace Hardware, FedEx, Kohler, and Lindt Chocolates have set up large-scale warehouse and distribution centers in Harrisburg – and those tenants account for just a portion of more than 16 million SF of net absorption.

Harrisburg-Carlisle and Lancaster Ranked Among Leaders in National Job Growth

Of the 25 metro areas with the fastest job growth, as of August 2017, both Harrisburg-Carlisle and Lancaster placed on this competitive list. Lancaster ranked number 24 for its steady growth as it diversifies its economy and renovates its downtown and industrial areas. In six months Lancaster added 3,100 new jobs, bringing its total employment to 252,400 and 2017 growth rate to 1.23%. Harrisburg-Carlisle ranked number 8 on the list with 6,200 new jobs added in the first two quarters of 2017, bringing total employment to 346,100 and 2017 growth rate to 1.82%. Noted was the area’s diverse group of healthcare, technology and biotechnology businesses.

Prime location for warehousing and distribution.

Central Pennsylvania is a premiere market for industrial space for several compelling reasons. For businesses who need easy and affordability storing and shipping of products, the areas offers a great roadway system, an abundant work force, relatively inexpensive and available raw land, and the ability to reach 70 to 80 percent of the U.S. population in 24 hours. Additionally, our government regulations on warehousing and distribution are comparatively easy and straightforward compared to other nearby states or regions.

Four of the 10 Select Top Industrial Leases in Q4 2017 took place in the Harrisburg market.

According to CoStar’s Q4 report for 2017, Harrisburg east and west markets represented the majority of top industrial leases signed that year. Prologis Carlisle (1,029,600 SF), Goodman Logistics Center Carlisle (1,007,868 SF), Prologis Harrisburg (623,143 SF) and Carlisle Distribution Center (575,000 SF) were all leased to different businesses who were looking to grow their industrial real estate space in Central Pennsylvania. This activity indicates economic growth and interest in Central PA’s industrial real estate market, both from businesses and real estate investors.

Lancaster market has the highest quoted rental rate for industrial space in Central PA at $4.69 per SF.

Even though Lancaster’s quoted rental rate for industrial space decreased by $0.45 per SF than where it was at the end of Q4 2016, it still comes in higher than Central PA’s other surrounding submarkets. At $4.69 per SF, Lancaster is $1.41 per SF higher than Lebanon, $0.03 per SF higher than Harrisburg/Carlisle, $0.08 per SF higher than Gettysburg and $0.67 per SF higher than York/Hanover based on Q4 2017.

Lancaster also has the lowest vacancy rate for industrial space in Central PA at just 2.0%.

Lancaster ended Q4 2017 with the lowest vacancy rate of all surrounding submarkets. Compared to Lancaster’s vacancy rate of 2.0%, Lebanon came in at 15.8%, Harrisburg/Carlisle at 6.8% and York/Hanover at 4.9% based on Q4 2017. Though Gettysburg did end 2017 with a vacancy rate of 0.4%, it’s important to note this submarket has just 78 buildings with a combined 4,372,179 SF of existing inventory which places it at a much different level than the other submarkets, comparatively.

Within the MSA, Harrisburg/Carlisle has the largest SF of industrial space under construction at 1,813,468 SF.

Two significantly large industrial projects will soon result in the addition of 1,813,468 SF to the Harrisburg/Carlisle submarket. Comparatively, Lebanon has three buildings under construction with a combined 1,310,195 SF of space, Lancaster has two buildings under construction with a combined 76,486 SF of space, York/Hanover has two buildings under construction with a combined 895,000 SF of space and Gettysburg has no new industrial space under construction. For Central PA as a whole, that equals 4,095,149 SF of new industrial space that will soon be delivered to the market.

Harrisburg/Carlisle’s ended 2017 with a positive net absorption of 2,700,108 SF.

According to CoStar’s Q4 2017 industrial market report, Harrisburg/Carlisle ended the year with the highest, positive net absorption we’ve seen since prior to 2014. At 2,700,180 SF, this is significantly higher than any other quarter that year, especially Q2 where the net absorption dropped to negative 499,576 SF. Additionally is Q4 2017, one new building was delivered to the market, adding 1,100,000 SF of space. Even with this influx of inventory, the net absorption rose by 2,083,756 SF. The new building that was delivered is Whirlpool’s new distribution facility located at 100 Fry Drive, Mechanicsburg.

Influx of State and Federal dollars will continue to improve transportation in and around Central PA.

The Trump administration has recently been touting a $1.5 trillion, 10-year public-private plan to improve roads, bridges, ports and other infrastructures across the nation. Central Pennsylvania has plans to utilize some of this federal funding to bolster its priority projects which include fixing structurally deficient bridges and widening interstates. Improvement to our roadways and infrastructure will improve public safety, create construction jobs and make Central PA an even more attractive location for warehousing and distribution.

After reading through these top 10 facts any commercial real estate investor should know about Central PA’s industrial market, you are likely to have some comments or questions of your own.

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