Cold storage demand is growing throughout the US. The market has already hit historic heights in the last year, and it is poised for continued growth. Currently, facilities are running at maximum capacity, and companies are looking to expand into emerging markets, like Utah.

"This growth is due to growing demand for pharmaceutical goods in countries such as China, Brazil and India," Wick Udy, SVP of JLL's Salt Lake City office. "This has caused U.S. pharmaceutical companies to rely on refrigerated storage facilities to store their goods before they are exported. Utah plays a key part in the transfer of consumer goods and raw materials throughout the United States. Three major interstates—I-15, I -80, and I-70—connect in the state and access in all directions and are readily available. Movement of consumer goods and raw materials is able to reach the west coast in a one-day to two-day delivery time."

IWH Capital recently secured an $8.5 million loan for the acquisition of a 157,750-square-foot cold storage facility in Salt Lake City. The deal is exemplary of the current market demand. JLL capital markets senior director Christopher Knight and director Lucas Borges, along with senior managing director Mark Detmer and senior directors Robin Stolberg and Ryan Sitov represented the borrower in the deal. "We saw a strong appetite for this deal across various sources of capital looking to expand their allocations towards cold storage/industrial sector," says Borges. "Lenders who expressed interest in this particular deal, include life insurance companies, CMBS and specialty finance lenders."