ST. LOUIS—The US industrial sector has entered a golden age, and investors have become eager to buy up class A properties in both core and secondary markets. Developer TriStar Properties has sold two mega-cube distribution centers it completed earlier this year at Gateway Commerce Center in Edwardsville, IL, to Dallas-based L&B Realty Advisors. The buildings total 1.14 million square feet and occupy a combined 99 acres of land. GEODIS and DB Schenker, both international 3PLs, each recently agreed to lease one of the new structures. The sales price was $64 million.

PCCP, LLC, a national real estate finance and investment management concern, teamed up with TriStar to develop the buildings at Gateway, a 2,300-acre logistics and bulk distribution park located across the Mississippi River from St. Louis in the Metro East submarket. Gateway now has around 13 million square feet, and has become one of the most coveted industrial sites in the Midwest.

“I've been working in this specific submarket for 21 years, and this is the best it's ever been,” Michael Towerman, principal with Tri-Star, tells GlobeSt.com, both in terms of tenant and capital demand. ”Spec buildings have traditionally leased prior to completion. Investors see that there is no vacancy in this park, ever.”