Airport Distribution Center. Image courtesy of Colliers
Just months after completing the development of Airport Distribution Center in West Columbia, S.C., Scannell Properties has sold the 247,000-square-foot speculative industrial property. With the assistance of Colliers | South Carolina, Scannell inked a sales agreement with Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Supply Inc., whose investment in the asset will ultimately total approximately $52 million.
Located on an approximately 23-acre site at 1029 Colite Ave., adjacent to Columbia Metropolitan Airport, the facility is also within 1 mile of UPS Air and Ground Hubs, the FedEx Air Ship Center and a CSX intermodal rail drop. Colliers, which secured the leasing and marketing assignment for the spec project just as Scannell broke ground in February 2022, orchestrated the sale of the asset for $24.7 million, according to the Lexington County Recorder of Deeds.
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The Colliers team of Thomas Beard, Chuck Salley, Dave Mathews and John Peebles had commenced its task with the goal of landing a single occupant or multiple tenants for the divisible building but wrapped up its job by reeling in a buyer. “Throughout the marketing process, we did receive multiple inquiries from users interested in purchasing the property along the way,” Thomas Beard, a vice president with Colliers | South Carolina, told Commercial Property Executive. “Ultimately, CEEUS approached us with the desire to purchase the property for a relocation and expansion of their operations and we were able to negotiate a deal that made sense for both parties.”
CEEUS intends to utilize the balance of the planned $52 million investment in Airport Distribution Center to customize the Five South Architecture-designed property that features 32-foot clear heights, ample trailer parking, an ESFR fire suppression system and LED lighting. The utility company will outfit and expand the building to include accommodations for its corporate headquarters, a test lab and a tool repair shop. CEEUS expects to be up and running at its new home by April 2024.
No shortage of demand
The industrial market in the Greater Columbia area is firing on all cylinders, courtesy of solid fundamentals. Metropolitan Columbia closed 2022 with its lowest-ever vacancy rate, just 2.3 percent, and recorded more than 1.8 million square feet of positive net absorption for the year, according to a Colliers report. And with substantial 3PL activity, existing user expansions and new-to-market manufacturers like Scout Motors’ planned $2 billion manufacturing facility in Blythewood, there’s no end in sight to the call for Class A industrial space in the area.
“Thankfully we have multiple development groups including Scannell with new projects either planned or currently under construction, which will enable us to accommodate the many users that want to be here,” Beard said. Scannell is currently planning Airport Distribution Center II, a speculative project that will add 310,000 square feet of subdivisible warehouse space to the West Columbia market.
