Glenstar Expands into Industrial Development in US Southeast; Plans Spring Groundbreaking for 290-Acre Warehouse Park in Upstate South Carolina

Glenstar, known for two decades as a national office and multifamily developer, is expanding its recent focus in industrial development with the announcement of its newest project – Cherokee Commerce Center 85 (CCC 85), a 290-acre commercial warehouse park in Gaffney, S.C. Located between Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C. and Charlotte, N.C., CCC 85 will break ground this spring on its first of five buildings, a 550,000-square-foot spec-to-suit warehouse that will be expandable to 1.3 million square feet.

The news of CCC 85 follows Glenstar’s 2022 debut in the U.S. Southeast industrial sector with the groundbreaking of Tri-County 75, the firm’s new 72-acre, four-building industrial park in Fort Myers, Fla., totaling 818,000 square feet. That same year, Glenstar made the strategic hire of 30-year industrial veteran Brian Netzky as principal.

Netzky joins Glenstar’s Co-founder Michael Klein in leading the firm’s new industrial initiatives, which are primarily focused on the Sunbelt region, and specifically the Southeast’s booming I-85 corridor.

“Despite headwinds and talk of cooling in some markets, we see only room to run for industrial, particularly in the Southeast, which has record-low occupancy combined with tremendous population growth that’s creating even more demand,” said Klein. “We anticipate significant pre-leasing on our ground-up, big box, institutional-quality industrial facilities, which enables us to modify the spec space to suit tenant needs in real time. We also have the advantage of having Brian’s industrial expertise as a tenant broker to identify sites and build facilities from the tenant point of view.”

Netzky founded Interstate Tenant Advisors, which he led for nearly 15 years before merging with Colliers International in 2018. He remained an executive vice president with Colliers for two years before joining Glenstar. Throughout his career, Netzky has executed occupier strategy and site selection on many of the largest industrial leases in North America, spanning over 30 million square feet across more than 70 major markets for e-commerce, retail distribution, consumer product distribution, paper and plastic packaging and food processing, and other firms.

“We worked with Brian while he was still at Colliers, and he has been instrumental to our success on Tri-County 75, our new industrial park in Fort Myers,” Klein said. “We knew he was exactly who we needed at Glenstar to help grow our industrial portfolio. His unique “end-user first” approach to site selection and development coupled with this deep, nationwide broker network and capital partners is an unbeatable combination.”

Cherokee Commerce Center 85, Gaffney, S.C.

In late Spring, Glenstar and capital partner Creek Lane Capital will break ground on the first building at CCC 85, their new warehouse park that will total five buildings and encompass 3.6 million square feet at the intersection of Hyatt Street/SC Highway 105 and the I-85 corridor, an area of rapid growth. Called Building 2, the first warehouse will offer 555,520 square feet (expandable to 1.3 million square feet), with completion expected in Spring 2024.

Warehouses at CCC 85 are being built on a speculative basis and pre-leasing is underway. Building 2 will also have a cross-dock orientation, 40-foot clear heights, up to 232 dock doors, four drive-in doors, and parking for 452 trailers and 540 cars. Next to break ground will be Building 4, a rear-load orientation, 36-foot clear heights, 56 dock doors, two drive-in doors, and parking for 132 trailers and 324 cars.

“Due to CCC 85’s massive scope and ideal location, tenants can choose from a range of mid- to bulk-size, best-in-class industrial space adjacent to the I-85 corridor, which is one of the most critical supply chain links in the Southeast,” said Netzky. “The ample space also allows for flexibility to accommodate up to 1.7 million square feet under one roof.”

CCC 85 is conveniently located 33 miles from the BMW Group Plant Spartanburg, 38 miles from Inland Port Greer in upstate South Carolina, and 50 miles west of Charlotte, N.C. From CCC 85, tenants can reach 100 million consumers within a one-day drive. Tenants and owner/occupiers will also have access to Tier-3 incentives to further maximize ROI.

Ware Malcomb has been selected as the architect for Cherokee Commerce Center 85, while The Conlan Company will serve as general contractor and SeamonWhiteside will provide civil engineering services. The industrial space will be leased by Colliers.

Tri-County 75, Fort Myers, Fla.

Speculative construction is underway at Tri-County 75, a new, 72-acre industrial park in Fort Myers, Fla., Glenstar is developing in partnership with Columnar Holdings. When complete, the four-building campus will offer 818,434 square feet of industrial space at the intersection of I-75 and Luckett Road.

“We are proud to be a pioneer of big box, Class A warehouse space in Southwest Florida,” said Netzky.. “The Fort Myers industrial market vacancy rate dipped to a historic low of 0.8% in Q4 2022, demonstrating the robust demand for modern distribution space. Our new, state-of-the-art facilities – along with abundant yard space – will help companies move products quickly and cost efficiently to one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation.”

In the center of Tri-Country 75, Building 3 presents an industrial product that is the first of its kind in Southwest Florida – a speculative 404,000-square-foot cross-dock warehouse with 36-foot clear heights. In November 2022, Glenstar signed a 252,860-square-feet lease with Ferguson Enterprises for two-thirds of the building, which was the third largest lease ever signed in Lee County. A national distributor of plumbing and HVAC supplies, Ferguson is relocating from its current regional distribution center and will take occupancy in Building 3 once construction is complete in September 2023.

“Ferguson prides itself on getting products to its customers fast, and they do that by occupying best-in-class distribution centers in strategic locations nationwide,” said Klein. “Tri-County 75’s large truck courts, abundant trailer stalls, secure outdoor storage, and easy highway access allow hundreds of trucks to leave the park every day to deliver products to customers throughout Florida within a day. With 36-foot clear heights, Ferguson will be able to stack its valuable inventory from floor to ceiling and utilize the best warehousing technology.”

The remaining 151,340 square feet available for lease at Building 3 offers 36-foot clear heights, 28 truck docks, two drive-in doors, and parking for 33 trailers and 103 cars.

Building 2, a speculative, 216,412-square-foot warehouse at 6135 TriCounty Commerce Way, is fully enclosed and construction is scheduled to deliver in April 2023. The building features 32-foot clear heights, 57 truck docks, four drive-in doors, and parking for 75 trailers and 233 cars.

Located in the economic center of Southwest Florida, Fort Myers is part of the Tri-County area which includes Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties. The new Tri-County 75 industrial park is a 12-minute drive from the Southwest Florida International Airport, and is located 33 miles north of Naples, and 73 miles south of Sarasota. The Tri-County area has 1.2 million residents and a workforce of more than 500,000.

Ware Malcomb is serving as project architect for Tri-County 75, while The Conlan Company is the design-build contractor and DeLisi Fitzgerald is the civil engineer. Square Mile Capital Management LLC is providing the loan to finance the development, and the Naples – Fort Myers office of Lee & Associates is overseeing leasing.

About Glenstar

Glenstar Properties, a Chicago-based national commercial real estate firm specializing in industrial development, reimagined office and multifamily properties. Founded in 2004 by Michael Klein, along with Rand Diamond, Glenstar has successfully developed or redeveloped more than $2 billion in commercial space comprising 10 million square feet across the U.S. Its nimble, tenant-focused approach and vertically integrated structure allow Glenstar to not only pursue and execute opportunistic projects, but also oversee and manage them seamlessly.

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Editors:

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Paula Widholm, pwidholm@taylorjohnson.com, (312) 267-4525.