INDIANAPOLIS-Duke-Weeks Realty Corp. has put together $149 million of new developments, acquisitions and third-party construction contractsfor the first quarter of 2001, the company says. The projects include $80 million of new developments, $54 million of new third-party construction contracts, and a $15-million acquisition.
The new developments are expected to provide a return of 11.6%, of which $5 million will be included in the company's held-for-sale portfolio.
Thomas L. Hefner, chairman and chief executive officer of the Indianapolis-based REIT, says he is pleased with the business activity “given the overall slowdown in the economy.” He adds Duke-Weeks' strong balance sheet with a $650 million line of credit positions the company to continue to increases market share in its various markets.
A big part of Duke-Weeks' deals are two new industrial developments: A 128,000-sf facility for Eagle Inc. in Minneapolis; and a 146,000-sf industrial building in Columbus, OH that is 45%-pre-leased to Scholastic Book Fairs, a division of Scholastic Inc. Scholastic Book Fairs leases 211,000 sf in five other properties throughout the company's portfolio.
Other new developments include:
* A 180,000-sf suburban office build-to-suit for Interactive Intelligence in the Woodland Corporate Park section of Duke-Weeks' Park 100 Business Park in Indianapolis.
* A 560,000-sf industrial building located at the Duke-Weeks' Freeport Industrial Park in Dallas, which is 45%-pre-leased to DDS/Southwest Schoolbook Depository. Duke-Weeks has also started building a383,000-sf industrial building at Freeport. Both projects are part of the Texas industrial joint venture with J.P. Morgan Investment Managementannounced in December.
* An 115,000-sf suburban office building at Easton inColumbus, OH.
* A 521,000-sf industrial building at the Duke-Weeks' Braselton Business Park and an 8,400-sf expansion of an industrial building, both in Atlanta.
* An 85,000-sf industrial building in Nashville, TN that is 56%- pre-leased.
* The redevelopment of a 128,000-sf shopping center in Cincinnati, which is fully leased and includes the construction of a 32,000-sf store that is 100%-pre-leased for 15 years to Best Buy.
Duke-Weeks also said it was awarded $54 million of third-party construction contracts, including a 605,000-sf industrial build-to-suit for Liz Claiborne in Cincinnati, OH.
The company also bought Camp Creek Business Centre, a 258,000-sf industrial park in Atlanta near Hartsfield International Airport, which is 93%-leased. The deal also includes 92 acres of undeveloped land thatcould support about 1.1 million sf new development and options to buy 350 acres of undeveloped land that can accommodate about 4.6 million sf of new development.
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