(To read more on the debt and equity markets, click here. To read more on the industrial market, click here.)

CHICAGO-The largest buyer of US industrial real estate last year is off to a good start in 2006. So far this year, First Industrial Realty Trust has spent $166 million on properties for its own balance sheet and another $354 million with joint venture partners.

Another $347 million worth of deals are under contract, notes chief investment officer Johannson L. Yap, adding during the REIT's first quarter conference call the company is on track to hit its acquisition and investment target of $600 million to $700 million for its own balance sheet this year. In addition, $367 million worth of new developments are in the pipeline, almost evenly split between the REIT's own balance sheet and joint ventures. "Development will become a bigger engine for our growth," says president and chief executive officer Michael W. Brennan.

The first-quarter acquisitions for its own balance sheet, which totaled $147.1 million for 2.4 million sf, were bought at an 8.4% capitalization rate, according to the company's financial report. The purchases include 1111 Davis Rd. in Elgin, an 87,000-sf property bought for $3.7 million. The 1.2 million sf of new developments placed into service, worth $65.1 million, are expected to yield 7.5%. Meanwhile, First Industrial's $293.2 million in first-quarter sales were at a 6.8% capitalization rate.