BGO and Yukon Real Estate Partners Sell 291,000-SF Kansas Cold Storage Facility to MetLife Investment Management Client

BGO and Yukon Real Estate Partners have sold New Century Cold Storage, a newly built 291,000-square-foot, plant-attached, rail-served cold storage warehouse in New Century, Kansas, to a client of MetLife Investment Management, the firms announced July 30.

The facility was developed through a joint venture between BGO and Yukon Real Estate Partners and was purpose-built as a build-to-suit warehouse for CJ Logistics America. The transaction marks the completion of a development-to-disposition cycle for the joint venture partners.

Property Details and Strategic Location

New Century Cold Storage sits within the Johnson County Airport Commission's New Century AirCenter industrial park and features a direct rail spur to the building, providing connectivity to the BNSF Railway transcontinental intermodal facility. The property is located less than four miles from Interstate 35, a position that provides over-the-road access to approximately 85% of the U.S. population within two days.

The facility's plant-attached design integrates directly with food production and logistics operations, a configuration that distinguishes it from conventional cold storage warehouses. The 291,000-square-foot footprint, multimodal transportation access, and single-tenant build-to-suit structure for CJ Logistics America position the asset as purpose-built infrastructure within the U.S. food supply chain.

Seller Commentary

"New Century Cold Storage is a strong example of BGO's cold storage investment thesis in action: institutional capital, specialized development execution, and a critical asset backed by long-term food logistics demand," said Kevin Rivest, Managing Partner at BGO. "Modern, high-performance cold storage real estate has become critical backbone infrastructure for American industry. With its purpose-built design, strategic location, and direct integration with food production and logistics operations, we believe this facility will make a meaningful contribution to the strength and resilience of U.S. food supply chains for decades to come."

"This project reflects what is possible when a strong tenant relationship, a sophisticated logistics requirement, and the right public-sector partnership come together around a purpose-built solution," said Mark Winter-Gitelson, Principal and President of Yukon Real Estate Partners. Axel Anderson, Head of Development at Yukon, added: "We are proud to have helped deliver a modern cold storage facility at New Century AirCenter that leverages the region's transportation and logistics infrastructure, and creates long-term value for Johnson County, its workers, and its taxpayers."

Cold Storage Demand and Development Context

The transaction reflects broader dynamics in the cold storage and food logistics real estate sector. Yukon Real Estate Partners, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, has positioned itself as a developer focused specifically on cold storage and food logistics assets, citing a significant shortage of modern supply relative to rising user demand. The firm's strategy centers on developing new facilities and modernizing existing ones, with New Century Cold Storage representing the former.

Cold storage facilities are capital-intensive to construct and highly specialized in their design and operating requirements, factors that have historically constrained new supply. Elevated construction costs and tighter financing conditions have further limited speculative development in the sector, increasing the relative value of newly delivered, build-to-suit assets with long-term tenants in place.

BGO has described reshoring, nearshoring, and supply-chain diversification as structural drivers of industrial demand in 2026. The firm has also noted that national industrial vacancy is expected to peak near 8% in 2026, with new supply moderating over the forecast horizon — a backdrop that supports institutional demand for stabilized, mission-critical logistics assets.

About the Firms

BGO is a global real estate investment management advisor serving more than 750 institutional clients. Together with Bell Partners Inc., which was acquired by Sun Life and combined with BGO on July 2, 2026, the firm had approximately $100 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2026. BGO operates across office, industrial, multi-residential, retail, and hospitality property types and maintains offices in more than 25 cities across twelve countries. BGO is part of SLC Management, the institutional alternatives and traditional asset management business of Sun Life.

Yukon Real Estate Partners is a fully integrated real estate investment and development company focused on cold storage and food logistics-related assets. In addition to its development and acquisition activities, Yukon provides cold storage user advisory services through its affiliated platform, FindColdStorage.com. The firm is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in New Jersey.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Sources

• BGO Press Release: BGO and Yukon Real Estate Partners Sell New Century Cold Storage Facility to a MetLife Investment Management Client