Arden Group has launched Arden Logistics Parks, a new logistics real estate operating platform specializing in the acquisition, improvement and property management of light industrial business parks across the United States.
Arden said the tech-enabled investment platform is targeting a national roll-up of small and medium bay multi-tenant industrial warehouses in sought-after in-fill urban locations across the U.S. – an underserved market in the industrial sector with limited new supply and accelerating demand.
The platform also aims to disrupt the decentralized, local ownership groups characterized by this asset class.
“Arden has long believed in the strength of the industrial asset class and the rise of e-commerce over the last several years that has fueled the national expansion of the supply chain logistics market even further,” noted Craig A. Spencer, Chairman and CEO, Arden. “The launch of the Arden Logistics Parks platform offers a compelling opportunity to create value for our investors by building a portfolio of high-quality last-mile facilities focused exclusively on the multi-tenant asset class.”
Arden Logistics Parks will function as the consumer facing brand for the firm’s recently announced joint venture with Arcapita to acquire multi-tenant industrial properties in markets across the United States.
The new partnership launched with the acquisition of an over seven-million-square-foot industrial property portfolio comprised of over 32 properties and 1,100 tenants, across nine markets. The portfolio is valued at over $800 million, with plans to grow up to $2 billion in gross asset value.
The Arden Logistics Parks platform is led by industry veterans with deep expertise in the multi-tenant warehouse sector, including Shike Goedar and Barbara Rea serving as President and Chief Investment Officer, and Chief Operating Officer, respectively.
Goedar began working with Arden Group in 2017 to launch the Industrial Platform. Prior to that, he was a member of the US Investment team of NorthStar Realty (predecessor to Colony Capital’s merger in 2017). At NorthStar, Goedar worked on over $7 billion of real estate transactions, including the initiation of the REIT’s industrial investments, global capital formation and operating company investments.
Prior to joining Arden, Rea was the Chief Operating Officer and founding team member for BKM Capital Partners, a $1.7 billion AUM light industrial fund manager, where she played a critical role in building the infrastructure and raising $750 million in institutional equity.
Additional key team members include Pamela Larin as Chief Financial Officer, Robert Timmons as Head of Asset Management, and Christian Vergilio as Director, Acquisitions.
“With the tools and technology we have implemented, Arden Logistics Parks is well-equipped to handle the sector’s high-velocity leasing pace for our existing portfolio and for the portfolios we will continue to acquire. We have built a tech-enabled platform to create efficiencies across our multi-state portfolio, with a focus on developing diverse and high-performance teams,” added Barbara Rea.
