Challenge

As a build-to-suit property, this FedEx Ship Center is the only Express Ship Center to serve the Inland Empire’s Coachella Valley since 1995. The property is located near prime infrastructure such as the Palm Springs International Airport. The Matthews™ team was presented with the challenge to market and sell a property that was tailor-made for FedEx in a small California market with six years remaining on the lease. The deal was the highest price per square foot and lowest cap rate for a FedEx on-market at that time. Additionally, there were covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) on title between several adjoining owners that limited the asset’s future use.

 

Strategy

Matthews™ exclusively represented the owner of the property and created a competitive bidding environment by utilizing Matthews™ proprietary marketing. This resulted in multiple offers ranging from family offices to private REITs, and 1031 Exchange buyers across the nation. By utilizing the Matthews™ database and marketing advantage, the team was able to create maximum exposure for the property.

 

Results

The Matthews™ team leveraged over a dozen offers generated and closed with an all-cash 1031 Exchange buyer that had recently sold a movie theater in Los Angeles, CA. Environmental complications arose during escrow, but the team navigated through those issues. Furthermore, Matthews™ gathered the several adjoining property owners during escrow to structure and agree on a “release” that ultimately cleared the CC&Rs on title. The property successfully closed with one the lowest cap rates and the highest price per square foot for a short-term industrial FedEx ship center, nationally.