Real estate fund manager Arden Group and alternative investment specialist Wafra formed a joint venture to acquire industrial service facilities, or ISFs, in such markets as Atlanta, Miami and Texas.

The acquisitions will be in the range of $5M to $30M for smaller properties and $100M to $200M for national, diversified portfolios, according to the partners, who say that they will buy as much as $1B in assets.

The JV will target industrial outdoor storage sites, truck terminals, trailer parking and last-mile port facilities.

As the industrial sector has expanded in recent years, so has interest in ISFs.

The most common sites range from 3 to 20 acres, with less than 25% of land occupied by buildings, such as a small office for site management. ISFs have existed for a long time, but until recently they have tended to be the province of owner-occupiers or local property owners.

More recently, investors have taken note. Last year, Chicago-based Timber Hill Group launched TH Logistics Fund I in partnership with Champion Realty Advisors, the goal of which was to acquire about $150M in ISFs.

“It’s a good time to have dry powder, and we are seeing great opportunities in this market,” Wafra Managing Director Pratik Patel told Green Street, adding that the partners don’t see the risk to be much different than multitenant industrial, but with more attractive pricing.