First Industrial Realty Trust Buys 764,000-SF Central Pennsylvania Industrial Building for $120 Million

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR) acquired a fully leased, 764,000-square-foot industrial building in Central Pennsylvania for $120 million during the third quarter of 2026, the firm announced Oct. 21 as part of its third-quarter earnings release. The price implies approximately $157 per square foot.

First Industrial Realty Trust Deal Details

The single-building acquisition was 100% leased at purchase. The transaction closed in the third quarter of 2026.

In the same quarter, the company also acquired a 32-acre land site in Dallas for $13 million. The site is developable to a two-building project totaling 390,000 square feet.

Central Pennsylvania Market Context

Central Pennsylvania has been a lower-cost alternative to the Lehigh Valley, where tenant pricing has historically been higher. Tenants priced out of the Lehigh Valley are increasingly moving into Central Pennsylvania, supporting rent growth in the submarket.

That demand is occurring alongside a substantial wave of new supply. Central Pennsylvania's third-quarter vacancy rate reached 7.1%, up 60 basis points from the second quarter, after approximately 3.4 million square feet of deliveries entered the market. Those deliveries were 68% vacant. Average asking rents in Central Pennsylvania increased 1.8% quarter over quarter to $8.42 per square foot, according to Savills data.

Across the broader Pennsylvania I-78/I-81 corridor, third-quarter leasing activity totaled 5.9 million square feet, the second-highest quarterly total in two years, and net absorption was positive for a fifth consecutive quarter. Regional vacancy in the corridor was 8.3%, up 40 basis points from the prior quarter, and asking rents rose to $9.18 per square foot. Another regional report put Central Pennsylvania asking rents at $7.79 per square foot and vacancy at 10.90%, reflecting differences in geographic boundaries and market definitions.

The contrast between newly delivered speculative buildings and existing leased assets is notable. The new deliveries are weighing on headline vacancy, while a fully leased building provides immediate in-place income. The implied price per square foot does not by itself establish yield, which depends on factors such as rent, lease term and operating expenses.

Third-Quarter 2026 Results

First Industrial reported diluted earnings per share available to common stockholders of $0.44 for the third quarter, compared with $0.49 a year earlier. Funds from operations (FFO) were $0.81 per share/unit on a diluted basis, compared with $0.76 a year earlier.

"Industrial real estate market fundamentals continued to improve in the third quarter, with strong net absorption reflecting the breadth of tenant demand in the marketplace," said Peter E. Baccile, First Industrial's president and chief executive officer. "We experienced a strong pace of early renewals from our tenants for our 2027 expirations and we are excited about our levels of overall prospect activity."

Portfolio performance metrics for the quarter included:

• In-service occupancy of 94.1% at the end of the third quarter, compared with 94.9% at the end of the second quarter of 2026 and 94.0% at the end of the third quarter of 2025.
• Cash rental rates on commenced new and renewal leases up 52%, and up 76% on a straight-line basis.
• Cash rental rate growth of approximately 38% on leases signed to date commencing in 2026, covering 94% of 2026 expirations by square footage.
• Cash rental rate growth of approximately 16% on leases signed to date commencing in 2027, covering 45% of 2027 expirations by square footage.
• Cash same-store net operating income (SS NOI) before termination fees up 5.6%, primarily reflecting higher rental rates on new and renewal leasing and contractual rent escalations, partially offset by lower average occupancy.

The company also leased the remaining 32,000 square feet of its 136,000-square-foot First Park Miami Building 12 in South Florida. The lease commenced in the third quarter.

Raised 2026 Guidance

First Industrial raised its 2026 FFO guidance by $0.01 at the midpoint and increased its full-year cash same-store NOI growth guidance by 75 basis points at the midpoint, to 6.5%. "We increased our guidance by $0.01 at the midpoint based on our third quarter performance and outlook," Baccile said.

Key guidance assumptions include:

• Year-end fourth-quarter in-service occupancy of 94.5% to 96.5%, implying a full-year quarter-end average of 94.5% to 95.0%, an increase of 25 basis points at the midpoint. The assumption includes 650,000 square feet of additional development leasing in December 2026.
• Fourth-quarter cash SS NOI growth before termination fees of 4.0% to 6.0%, implying full-year growth of 6.25% to 6.75%.
• Capitalized interest of $0.08 per share in 2026.
• General and administrative expense of $42.0 million to $43.0 million, excluding $5.6 million of costs related to a contested proxy campaign recognized in the first quarter.

The guidance does not include the impact of future investments, property sales, debt repurchases prior to maturity, debt issuances, equity issuances or stock repurchases after the date of the release.

Portfolio Footprint

First Industrial describes itself as a U.S.-only owner, operator, developer and acquirer of logistics properties. As of Sept. 30, 2026, it owned and had under development approximately 72.9 million square feet of industrial space concentrated in 15 target metropolitan statistical areas.

The company's third-quarter investment activity combined a stabilized, fully leased acquisition in Central Pennsylvania with a land purchase in Dallas for future development. The company will host its quarterly conference call Oct. 22 at 10:00 a.m. CDT.

Sources

• First Industrial Realty Trust, "First Industrial Realty Trust Reports Third Quarter 2026": https://www.firstindustrial.com/node/320