Wharton Industrial, a platform of real estate investment firm Wharton Equity Partners, announced Tuesday that it has acquired seven industrial properties in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, including three in South Jersey.
The seven total approximately 450,000 square feet.
The properties located in South Jersey are located in Pennsauken, Moorestown and Marlton. The purchase prices were not disclosed.
The acquisition of these properties brings its closings of industrial property within the last two months to almost 750,000 square feet. Additionally, in the Philadelphia region, Wharton is finalizing the purchase of several more buildings prior to the end of year, in addition to entitling a land site for a speculative last-mile distribution facility.
“These acquisitions demonstrate our belief in the continued promise of the Greater Philadelphia market as hotspots of industrial value, with nearly unprecedented growth potential,” said Scott Guo, head of acquisitions for Wharton Industrial. “As the largest industrial landlord in Pennsauken and a historic operator in the Philadelphia industrial market, these properties presented excellent opportunities in line with our strategy of acquiring well-situated buildings holding enormous potential to service densely populated markets.”
The properties are strategically located along key transit corridors connecting the city of Philadelphia to both the southern New Jersey and Central Pennsylvania markets, providing an attractive opportunity for tenants who are interested in accessing supply chain lines and distribution networks extending from the New York metropolitan area to the Greater Philadelphia region.
Wharton has established itself as a major player in the Greater Philadelphia industrial market in recent years, acquiring and developing projects such as SoPhi Logistics Center, a formerly defunct railcar facility that Wharton transformed into a first-class last-mile delivery facility. The building was leased to Amazon in its entirety before being sold for $71.5 million in late 2020.
The firm also owns more than 1.5 million square feet of industrial space in Pennsauken, as well as other properties in nearby Cherry Hill.
“The relative rent and population density offered by Philadelphia makes it an ideal choice for development and investment of industrial properties,” adds Nick Aileo, associate at Wharton, who spearheaded the acquisitions effort. “Demand for space within important distribution and logistics hubs is only continuing to grow as the economy becomes increasingly reliant on e-commerce and last-mile delivery, and this region is poised to remain at the center of the fast-evolving industrial market.”
