JLL Closes $175M Industrial Real Estate Sale of Fully Leased Richmond Portfolio
JLL Capital Markets has closed the $175 million sale of the Northlake and Walthall Portfolio, a four-building industrial real estate portfolio spanning 1,161,788 square feet across two established submarkets in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. The deal, priced at $151 per square foot, has been characterized as Richmond's second-largest industrial sale on record.
The portfolio was sold on behalf of a partnership between Lingerfelt, a vertically integrated real estate investment management firm, and Partners Group Real Estate, a global private markets firm with more than $185 billion in assets under management. Partners Group held the majority interest in the venture.
Portfolio Overview and Industrial Real Estate Assets
The Northlake and Walthall Portfolio comprises three buildings at the Walthall Distribution Center in Colonial Heights, Chesterfield County, and one building at the Northlake Distribution Center in Ashland, Hanover County. At the time of sale, the portfolio was fully leased to 15 tenants representing six industries: construction supply, information storage, automotive, logistics and supply chain, health and wellness, and food and beverage.
The Walthall Distribution Center benefits from access to I-95, I-295, Route 460 — which connects to the Port of Virginia — and Route 10, which leads to the Meadowville Technology Park. That park is home to a Lego manufacturing facility valued at more than $1 billion, according to the announcement. The Northlake Distribution Center in Ashland sits approximately two minutes from I-95 and serves as one of the northernmost entry points to the Richmond industrial market from the Washington, D.C. metro area.
JLL described the assets as mid-to-shallow-bay industrial product.
Value-Add Execution and Real Estate Acquisition Context
During the ownership period, Lingerfelt and Partners Group executed a multimillion-dollar capital improvement program that included roof replacements, truck court resurfacing, exterior facade upgrades, and interior finish improvements. New leasing, expansions, and renewals were completed across 86% of the portfolio's square footage.
"This transaction is a prime representation of successful business plan execution within our value-add industrial acquisition platform," said Rob Valentine, managing director of Investments at Lingerfelt.
The sale drew more than $2 billion in offers from institutional investors, according to JLL.
"We value the trust placed again in JLL by our clients Lingerfelt and Partners Group and are pleased to have again achieved record results in one of the Mid-Atlantic's strongest industrial investment markets," said Bill Prutting, senior managing director at JLL Capital Markets. "The Northlake and Walthall assets represent some of the highest-quality mid-to-shallow-bay industrial product in Richmond, and the more than $2 billion in offers received from the most active institutional investors reinforces the continued scarcity premium being placed on acquiring 'core' and 'core-plus' assets in Richmond."
Craig Childs, senior director at JLL, added: "The combination of immediate cash flow, embedded value creation through mark-to-market opportunities and superior building specifications made this a standout offering in the current market environment."
Deal Team
The JLL Capital Markets team advising on the transaction was led by Senior Managing Director Bill Prutting, Managing Director Chris Dale, Senior Director Craig Childs, and Director Ginna Wallace. Debt advisory support was provided by Managing Director Rob Carey and Senior Director Evan Parker. The buyer was not identified in the announcement.
Richmond Industrial Market Context
The Richmond metropolitan area, home to more than 1.4 million residents and positioned at the intersection of I-95 and I-64, offers logistics connectivity to Washington, D.C. approximately 100 miles north and the Port of Virginia roughly 90 miles southeast.
JLL has also been active across the Virginia industrial corridor, having arranged the sale of a logistics facility in Fredericksburg, an $81.9 million refinancing for a newly delivered industrial property in Winchester, and $34 million in construction financing for the Whitepine Logistics Center in Richmond.
JLL Capital Markets operates globally with more than 3,000 specialists across nearly 50 countries, providing investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity and fund placement, and related services to real estate investors and occupiers.