The two properties outside the Northeast Columbia Corridor are the Omark Business Center and the Lake Oswego Executive Center. Omark is a four-building, 52,000-sf property in Milwaukie that is 87% leased. The Lake Oswego property is a three-building, 37,352-sf property that is 63% leased.

Local industrial property experts tell GlobeSt.com that all the big pension fund advisors and REITs are interested, as well as a significant number of big local players. Sources at Secured Capital did not return phone calls seeking further comment, such as the reason for the sale and the number of bids received. Tim Gudim, First Industrial's managing director for the west region, declined comment.

One local industrial expert tells GlobeSt.com First Industrial is unloading the portfolio after being unable to add to the portfolio by acquiring more properties or by acquiring raw land for new development. "Nobody has been selling properties and the raw land values are too high now for new development based on the lease rates that can be obtained," says the source. "A lot of people that are here now and expanding are developers that have had the land for a while and were able to buy it at a price that justified a future development."

When the Sivers family sold its 36-building portfolio to First Industrial in 1988, patriarch Dennis Sivers said increased competition was the main reason. He said Portland is running out of raw industrial land that isn't already controlled by users, and there are significant handicaps for the independent developer trying to compete in that environment.

"It's basically an ongoing business decision that we could compete more effectively in the market as part of a larger entity," Sivers said. "By teaming up with First Industrial, we can take advantage of REIT's access to capital and be more aggressive in dealing with the kind of restructuring of industrial properties that needs to be done."