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The Dow Jones' historic fall on Feb. 5 may have changed the future of a distribution facility in Queens' Maspeth neighborhood.
Industrial real estate powerhouse Prologis was in advanced talks to purchase the FedEx distribution center near Newtown Creek before the stock market crash derailed proceedings, Crain's New York Business reports. American Realty Advisors is now nearing a deal to purchase the property.
North Carolina-based SunCap Property Group purchased an empty lot of land, which it recently finished converting into a distribution facility specifically for FedEx, which lists its Maspeth address at 58-96 Maurice Ave. Its initial agreement with the $32B, publicly owned Prologis was for around $265M, a price approaching a New York City warehouse record. Los Angeles-based ARA is reportedly nearing an agreement for a similar price.
The first deal fell through because Prologis had planned to offer stock as part of its payment, according to Crain's — stock that fell from $65 to $58 per share on Feb. 5, a drop that reportedly torpedoed the arrangement. Prologis stock has since rebounded to $61 per share, which is still a 20% increase year over year, according to Crain's.
Cushman & Wakefield has been marketing the property on behalf of SunCap, through both the failed Prologis deal and the current American Realty Advisors negotiation. Recently, FedEx's chief competitor, UPS, signed a 475K lease for another Maspeth warehouse.
The high price tag is consistent with the sky-high demand for distribution close to population centers, combined with the new property's modern clearance levels and truck parking capacity. According to some top experts, though, American Realty Advisors may be buying a little late in this cycle.
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