Lease Up: Electrolux Bringing Canadian Operation to Tennessee

Electrolux, one of the largest manufacturer of major cooking appliances sold in the U.S., selected Memphis, TN, as the location of its new North American Cooking Products manufacturing center. The facility will be in Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park.

The center represents an investment of more than $190 million.

Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2011, and the facility will employ more than 1,200 people when it is fully operational.

Electrolux plans to begin transitioning production to the newly built, 700,000-square-foot facility in mid-2012 and the process is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2013.

Electrolux conducted a comprehensive study of potential locations for the new manufacturing center, and Memphis emerged the clear winner based on several key factors:

Lower cost structure -- Transferring the production to Memphis will allow Electrolux to reduce its current cost structure while continuing to produce industry-leading, innovative products that are competitively priced.

Memphis's resources and location advantages -- Electrolux was also attracted by the skilled labor pool in the Memphis area, and the area's central location and excellent logistics, which will improve access to the company's key markets, customers and suppliers.

Synergies with other plants -- The company will be able to better leverage its existing base of resources, especially those at its cooking operations in Springfield, TN.

"Locating this Electrolux cooking products plant in Memphis will strengthen the company's position in North America," said Kevin Scott, president, Electrolux Major Appliances - North
America.

The plant will be designed and constructed for LEED certification.

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Express Scripts Expanding in St. Louis

Express Scripts Inc. plans to build a 227,000-square-foot structure in the NorthPark development area - the third office building and fourth facility at its headquarters campus in North St. Louis County, MO. The site is near the Express Scripts Technology & Innovation Center, which formally opened in June, and its two headquarters buildings on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

The initiative, projected to cost in excess of $70 million, will bring together functions now performed at several sites in the Riverport area of Maryland Heights. Approximately 1,500 Express Scripts employees will move into the new facility upon completion, and the company will create 150 jobs in the area within two years of opening the building.

Groundwork has started for the project. Pending necessary approvals and permits, the scheduled completion is the fourth quarter of 2011.

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Additional Companies Expanding or Relocating

Ace Manufacturing leased 105,960 square feet of warehouse space in Hebron, KY. The bedding manufacturer will move into the space early next year. Brian Leonard and Mark Volkman of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant; while Si Pitstick and Josh Young of Cincinnati Commercial Realtors/Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, ProLogis. (By: George A. Cerny)

AECOM Technology Corp. an LA-based Fortune 500 company and international provider of professional technical and management support, signed a 12-year lease deal for 108,631 square feet at SL Green's recently redeveloped 100 Park Ave. in New York City. Tishman Construction, which was recently acquired by AECOM, was the original builder of 100 Park, and led SL Green's recent re-development of the property. AECOM is consolidating from several area locations and will occupy space on floors 5, 6, 18 and 19. Joseph Simone of Tishman Real Estate Services and Adam Foster with CB Richard Ellis represented AECOM. The Cushman & Wakefield Inc. team of Paul Glickman, Tara Stacom, Jonathan Tootell, Peter Alden, Diana Biasotti, A. Mitti Liebersohn and Alexander Chudnoff partnered with Christopher Gulden, Larry Swiger and Denise Rodriguez with SL Green Realty Corp. to represent the landlord. (By: Justin Sumner)

Amazon.com Inc. formally committed to invest $100 million for a new distribution center in Lexington County, SC. The facility is expected to create an additional 2,500 seasonal positions to meet its needs. Amazon expects the new facility to be operational before the 2011 holiday season. Amazon.com will locate its 1 million-square-foot distribution and fulfillment center in the Saxe Gotha Industrial Park in Lexington County. The facility is off of I-77 at Exit 2, New Industrial Park Road (an extension of 12th Street). The location provides prime interstate access as well as close proximity to the UPS ground hub near Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

American Locker Group Inc. entered into an agreement with an affiliate of General Electric Co., to lease 100,000 square feet within a building in the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. The company will be relocating its corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility from its current location at 815 S. Main St. in Grapevine, TX, during the first quarter of 2011. The term of the lease is for 91 months and is effective the later of Dec. 31, 2010, or when the landlord has substantially completed the finish out of the premises.

Black Diamond Performance Reporting signed a 5-year lease in the Deerwood South business park. It will occupy 20,540 square feet of office space and relocate the company headquarters from Sutton Park Drive South to the new address at 10151 Deerwood Park Blvd., Building 400 in Jacksonville, FL. Ross Carrier, director of leasing at Flagler, was the owner's in-house representative. Lou Nutter, senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis, represented the tenant. (By: Carlesha Ahlgren)

Cummins Power Generation is acquiring a new building in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Shoreview, with plans to consolidate its global headquarters there in 2011. The building is a short distance from the current Fridley headquarters site. The creation of a new headquarters building will also clear the way for future growth at the Fridley plant, with the consolidation of engineering staff and the addition of a new structure there.

Ford is investing $600 million to transform its Louisville, KY, assembly plant into a state-of-the-art facility, becoming Ford's most-flexible high-volume plant in the world. When the fully transformed Louisville assembly plant re-opens in late 2011, it will operate on two production shifts, requiring 1,800 incremental jobs from today's staffing levels to be filled through a combination of existing Ford workers and new hires. Construction begins in mid-December, allowing installation of new tooling, body shop equipment and other upgrades necessary to build the next-generation Escape for North America.

Grohe America Inc., a faucet manufacturer, signed a 10-year lease for 15,219 square feet in the office building at 160 Fifth Ave. in Chelsea in New York. Henry Goodfriend and Philip Silverstein of NAI Global New York City represented GROHE America Inc. Oliver Katcher provided in-house representation for the landlord, RFR Realty LLC. (By: Esther Prince)

HeartWare Inc. signed a lease for a new facility in Miami Lakes, FL, as part of its planned expansion to support its efforts to prepare for U.S. commercialization. The facility will be used primarily for manufacturing, research and development and administrative functions. Under the lease, the company will rent 131,000 square feet for a period ending Feb. 28, 2022, subject to the renewal terms set forth in the lease. The landlord will provide $1.75 million towards tenant improvements. Base rent will be $9 per square foot, payable starting March 2012 and subject to a 3% annual escalation thereafter. A security deposit of $1.25 million will apply, subject to increase or decrease under specified circumstances. The lease is conditioned on the closing of the sale of the property to the landlord, which sale is currently expected within the next few weeks.

Japan Food Corp. signed a 10-year lease deal for 203,000 square feet in the industrial building at 55 Wildcat Way in Linden, NJ. William Waxman of CB Richard Ellis represented Japan Food Corp. Stephen Elman of Cushman & Wakefield of New Jersey Inc. represented property owner The Morris Cos. (By: Michael Verostek)

Kichler Lighting, a leading lighting fixture firm, signed a lease for 247,704 square feet in the Braselton 85 Distribution Center at 900 Highway 124 in Braselton, GA. Tommy Hiles of Bull Realty represented Kichler. Lex Rickenbaker was the in-house negotiator for property owner Sealy & Co. (By: Rebecca Constantine)

Kilpatrick Stockton, a major corporate law firm, signed a 10-year, 65,873-square-foot renewal in the office building at 607 14th St. NW in the East End area of Washington, DC. Kilpatrick Stockton’s lease includes the entire ninth through 11th floors. Zeke Dodson and Laurie McMahon of Cassidy Turley represented the landlord, DEKA Immobilien Investment GmbH. Neil Levy and Thomas Fulcher and Adam Brecher of Studley represented the tenant. (By: Matthew Marshall)

LG Electronics USA Inc., a New Jersey-based subsidiary of global consumer electronics provider LG Electronics, purchased the three-story, Class A office cluster in Bergen County for $55 million, or about $134 per square foot, from Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc., a public REIT based in Atlanta, GA. LG Electronics USA is expected to expand its headquarters operations at the location, beginning construction activities within two years, though precise plans have not been proposed. John Oh and Paul March of CB Richard Ellis represented the buyer; while Jeffrey Dunne, Kevin Welsh, and David Opper, also with CBRE, represented the seller. (By: Carly VanKirk)

M.E. Heuck Co. bought a West Chester, OH, warehouse building from Kin Products Inc. for $2.2 million or $20 per square foot. The buyer, a distributor of houseware products, which was founded in 1922, will move to the 110,000-square-foot building at 6386 Gano Road in the Schumacher Commerce Park from the Global Trade Center in Mason. Si Pitstick and Josh Young of Cincinnati Commercial Realtors/Cushman & Wakefield represented the buyer; while Steve Miller and William Keefer of Colliers International represented the seller. (By: George A. Cerny)

Mars Petcare US will lease a 1.3 million-square foot, built-to-suit, warehouse/distribution facility for in Columbus being developed by Duke Realty Corp. The new building is being built on a 78-acre site in Park 70 at West Jefferson, off I-70, 12 miles west of I-270 at the Route 29 exit. The new facility will support Mars Petcare’s pet food manufacturing facilities in the state of Ohio. The company plans to consolidate two other Ohio distribution facilities into this new regional facility when it is completed.

Moss Adams LLP, a full service accounting firm, signed a 10-year, 25,413-square-foott lease was valued at $10.6 million at Equity Office's 10960 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. Moss Adams will relocate from a 45,000-square-foot Brentwood office that was never fully occupied. This is because the firm chose to open an office in Woodland Hills instead of expanding at the Brentwood location. The accounting firm was lured to the Westside by an attractive economic package of relocation and tenant improvement costs by Equity Office. The company outbid several downtown and West L.A. landlords to secure the tenant. Peter Best, Hunt Barnett, Beau Rawi and Karly Nolen of LA Realty Partners represented Equity Office. Joe Faulkner and Roy Longman of CresaPartners represented the tenant. (By: Melissa Sicola)

Natixis signed a 182,200-square-foot lease at 1251 Avenue of the Americas. It is consolidating from 9 W. 57th St., 1345 Avenue of the Americas, and a current space that it already has in the building. It will take occupancy of the entire third through fifth floors in the summer of 2011. John Cefaly and Robert Lowe of Cushman & Wakefield represented Natixis. David Falk, Peter Shimkin, and Nick Berger of Newmark Knight Frank represented the landlord, Mitsui Fudosan America. (By: Lauren Hale)

Pacer Distribution Services inked a lease valued at $6.2 million to occupy fully a distribution facility at Watson Industrial Center in Carson, CA. Move in is scheduled for this month. Lance Ryan, vice president of marketing and leasing with Watson Land Co. and Mike Bodlovich were the in-house representatives for Watson. Steve Sprenger of Grubb & Ellis negotiated for Pacer. (By: Laurie Forbes)

Premier Logistics Solutions signed a 3-year lease for 209,718 square feet in the industrial building at 904 Commerce Cir. in Hanahan, SC. Premier will occupy the entire one-story building owned by Maybank Properties LLC. Hagood Morrison of Colliers International represented Premier Logistics Solutions; while Michael McFall represented Maybank Properties LLC in-house. (By: Zachary Linsky)

PricewaterhouseCoopers signed a 15-year deal for 209,151 square feet at the Sobrato Building in San Jose, CA. PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, plans to move into the space in the third quarter of next year. Shane McNulty, Timothy Dempsey and Amy DeAngelis of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant. Phillip Arnautou, Michael Rosendin and Jeff Rogers of Colliers International represented the landlord, Oracle Corp. (By: Adam Contreras)

Rockwell Automation Inc. renewed its triple-net lease for 76,049 square feet of space, and expanded into an additional 136,049 square feet at 4020 Quest Way in Memphis, TN. It will take occupancy of the entire 212,098-square-foot building this month. Mark Jenkins and Phil Dagastino of Commercial Alliance Management LLC represented the landlord, Atlanta-based Space Center Inc. Patrick Burke of CB Richard Ellis Memphis represented Rockwell Automation. (By: Hugo Gilbert)

Ryerson Inc., a leading processor and distributor of metals in North America and China, will open a plate processing center in Eldridge, IA. The 175,000-square-foot facility is expected to begin operations in July 2011. The processing capabilities include laser cutting, plasma and oxy-fuel burning, robotic beveling, plate blasting, machining and press brake bending.

Sabra Dipping Co. signed a 31,443-square-foot sublease deal at 777 Westchester Ave. in White Plains, NY. The building is owned by Normandy Real Estate Partners. Kevin Langtry with CB Richard Ellis represented Sabra in its sublease from Pernod Ricard. (By: Jamie Standiford)

Sleep Factory signed a 5-year lease deal for the entire warehouse facility at 3800 Frankford Ave. in Philadelphia. Yaniv Nechemia with South Realty LLC represented the landlord in-house. Chris Pennington with Binswanger represented the tenant. (By: Latricia Miller)

Smith Micro Software Inc. leased 55,586 square feet at McCandless Corporate Center, including special first-floor space that will accommodate the company's data center requirements. The lease term is 10 years. McCandless Corporate Center is at Two Corporate Center at 5800 Corporate Dr. in Pittsburgh, PA. The Aliso Viejo, CA.-based company, which develops and markets mobile software products and services, plans to employ up to 250 people at its new Pittsburgh office. The company is receiving state funding to establish the office in Pittsburgh. Gary Roberson and Rob Geiger of Grant Street Associates represented the landlord, Zell Two Inc. Gail Beek, of Allegheny Commercial Real Estate Services Inc., represented the tenant. (By: Michael Freitag)

Stonegate Mortgage Corp. plans to expand its Fishers, IN, headquarters, creating up to 300 new jobs by 2015. The mortgage lender is currently at 10412 Allisonville Road in Fishers and plans to invest $3 million to relocate to 29,000 square feet of space at 9998 Crosspoint Blvd. in the Hamilton County town.

The National Association of Manufacturers, an industrial trade association, signed a 10-year lease for 41,732 square feet in the office building at 733 10th St. NW in Washington, DC. NAM’s lease will include the entire fifth and sixth floors with an expected occupancy in April 2012. The still under construction eight-story building is in the East End submarket and will total 165,000 square feet when it delivers by the third quarter of next year. Skanska USA Commercial Development purchased the property from PN Hoffman Inc. last year. Rich Rhodes and Gary Stein of CresaPartners represented NAM. Jena Belinke, Peter Carroccio, Joe Coleman and Randy Harrell of CB Richard Ellis Group represented Skanska. (By: Matthew Marshall)

Winston & Strawn LLP signed a 15-year lease renewal and expansion at the MetLife building at 200 Park Ave. in one of New York City's largest leases of the year. The international law firm, a tenant at the building since 1995, will now occupy about 263,344 square feet, expanding by another 18,628 square feet after a 43,806-square-foot expansion just five months ago. Mitchell Steir, John Mambrino and Matthew Barlow of Studley represented Winston & Strawn. Meghan Sheehan and Calvin Farley of Tishman Speyer represented the landlord in house. (By: Randyl Drummer)

Xerox Corp. will invest $25 million in the coming year to expand its EA Toner plant in to handle the increasing worldwide need for chemically grown toner. The project will increase Xerox's manufacturing capacity by 50% at the company's plant in Webster, NY. Construction to expand the five-story, 100,000 square-foot plant near Rochester will begin this month and should be completed by the end of 2011. The expansion will add 10 engineers and union technicians to the current workforce of about 75.

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