Liberty's (LPT) Tenant Signs Renewal And Expansion Lease

Liberty Property Trust’s (NYSE:LPT) warehouse facilities are not only grabbing attention from new tenants, but also experiencing decent demand from the existing ones.

Recently, its existing tenant — Cameron's Coffee — struck a lease renewal and expansion for 75,495 square feet of space at 5555 12th Avenue East in Shakopee, MN. This comprises the tenant’s present occupancy of 68,176 square feet and an addition of 7,319 square feet of space.

Notably, Cameron's Coffee is headquartered at 5700 12th Avenue East in Shakopee, MN. The move seems a strategic fit for the national coffee roaster and distributor, as it will help in keeping its warehouse operations in the neighboring single-story industrial building. The facility, which comprises 128,172 square feet of space, is positioned on around seven acres of land near Highway 169 interchange.

Per Liberty Property’s management, with the “dynamic and entrepreneurial nature of the economy” the Minneapolis Metro area has been displaying organic growth and drawing new business.

Earlier this August, the company announced expansion of its industrial portfolio amid improving fundamentals in the real estate category. The company noted that it would develop a 220,000-square-foot industrial building for global conveyance solutions leader — Intralox, LLC — at 7157 Ridge Road, in Hanover, MD. This move would enable Intralox to expand its business and consolidate three locations. (Read more: Liberty to Build Industrial Building for Intralox)

In fact, Liberty Property’s industrial portfolio, spanning 92.3 million square feet, was leased 95.9% at the end of second-quarter 2017, reflecting the strong demand for space at its properties. Additionally, industrial distribution rents escalated 11.9% on renewal and replacement leases signed during the quarter.

As a matter of fact, Liberty has been making diligent efforts to expand its industrial portfolio amid the improving fundamentals in this real estate category. Industrial real estate has been witnessing solid demand amid an economic recovery, growth of e-commerce and U.S.-based manufacturing. This, in turn, is fueling demand for warehouse space, as companies are compelled to enhance and renovate their distribution and production platforms. This is opening up a number of opportunities for industrial REITs like Prologis Inc. (NYSE:PLD) , DCT Industrial Trust Inc. (NYSE:DCT) , STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG) and Liberty.

Currently, Liberty carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Further, the stock has gained 5.5% year to date compared with 3.6% growth recorded by the industry it belongs to.



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