The lease is a 15-year, bond-type net lease with two 10-year renewal options. Terms of the lease were not disclosed, but area brokers tell GlobeSt.com that new manufacturing/distribution facilities in Alpharetta run about $6.83 per sf.

Carey bought the asset for its Corporate Property Associates 15 Inc. real estate investment trust, which is a member of the $3.5-billion W.P. Carey Group.

The property is at 1400 Bluegrass Lakes Parkway, about 25 miles from Downtown Atlanta. It is newly built and houses the Advantis headquarters and executive offices as well as manufacturing and distribution operations.

Advantis, a subsidiary of Princeton, NJ-based Rockwood Specialties, Inc., is the second-largest US manufacturer of pool, spa and water treatment chemicals. The company manufactures pool accessories, such as vacuums and maintenance products, under such brands as GLB, Leisure Time, Roharb, Applied Biochemicals and Blue Devil.

In a printed statement, Scott G. Smith, Rockwood's treasurer, said the sale-leaseback transaction "enabled us to monetize 100% of the value in a highly appreciated real estate asset, versus more traditional mortgage-type financings, while freeing up capital to aggressively invest in our businesses."

In the statement, Gordon J. Whiting, executive director of Carey and its deputy director of acquisitions, calls sale-leasebacks "one of the preferred methods of financing," in "today's tightening credit market."