Trammell gets nibbles on TRIC property

Trammell Crow Co. doesn't plan to develop big industrial buildings on the 104 acres it just acquired at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center until it gets leases in hand, but the company already is getting nibbles from manufacturing and distribution companies.

The property potentially could be the site of about 2 million square feet of industrial space, says Mike Perkins, a vice president with Trammell Crow in Reno.

Perkins says the development company isn't likely to build speculative industrial space on the land, which

is within a couple of miles of several other big speculative industrial buildings that are awaiting tenants.

But the company is marketing the land to potential clients for build-to-suit industrial facilities, and Perkins says the property has drawn some early interest from companies that are scouting the region for distribution and manufacturing facilities.

Some of that interest, he said, comes as big companies increasingly look at northern Nevada as a location for some of their biggest distribution facilities.

Trammell Crow purchased the property on behalf of Mutli-Employer Property Trust, a $7.2 billion real estate equity fund. The sales price was $10.22 million in a deal put together by Lance Gilman of L. Lance Gilman Commercial Real Estate Services, the broker for the industrial center property.

The land is along USA Parkway, up a hill from the giant Wal-Mart and PetSmart distribution centers at TRIC.

Multi-Employer Property Trust previously purchased two buildings totaling more than 800,000 square feet nearby. One, a 310,000- square-foot distribution center, has been leased by Tire Rack. The second building, which totals 500,000 square feet, is awaiting its first tenant.

The trust paid $41.7 million for the two buildings in a transaction that closed in late December.

Kennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel LP of Seattle serves as the real estate advisor to Multi-Employer Property Trust, and the company likes Tahoe Reno Industrial Center because of Nevada's low business costs, its attractive tax environment and its location within a one-day drive to major Western markets.

Kennedy Associates, the Multi-Employer Property Trust and Trammell Crow previously worked together to acquire and develop Southwest Commerce Center, a south Reno industrial project that totals about 1.03 million square feet.

Nationwide, Multi-Employer Property Trust owns 186 properties in 25 markets, and it invests funds from 328 participating pension funds. It bills itself as the largest fund with a commitment to the use of union labor on its projects.