HSA Defies Odds With 1M SF of Buys

chi_ericogden.jpgCHICAGO-Despite the credit crisis and a continuing pricing disjunct between sellers and buyers, HSA Commercial Real Estate managed to purchase nearly one million square feet of industrial properties since Labor Day. But Eric Ogden, senior vice president of the Chicago-based firm’s acquisition division, says the buying binge appears unlikely to be repeated in the current quarter.

“We had a little flurry of acquisition activity, but a lot of those deals surfaced before things got so dire,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “Sellers who were committed to selling made themselves apparent in the third quarter, but since then, I’ve seen sellers back away a little.”

The most recent acquisitions included, a 192,500-square-foot warehouse-manufacturing property in Sturtevant, WI, 28,680-square-foot warehouse in Woodstock, IL, 28,680-square-foot warehouse in Channahon, IL and two warehouse-distribution buildings in Memphis totaling 680,000 square feet. All the buildings were fully leased at the time of sale. In addition to the acquisitions, the company recently broke ground on two industrial buildings totaling 448,610 square feet in Mt. Pleasant, WI. The facilities, including one of the region’s first LEED-certified warehouses, constitute the first phase of HSA’s seven-building Park 94 at Mt. Pleasant.