Saxum Real Estate’s U.S. cold storage portfolio includes a 254,460-square-foot facility at 1900 Peru Drive in Sparks, Nevada. — Courtesy: Saxum
By Joshua Burd
Saxum Real Estate is marking a banner year after investing in a series of cold storage, industrial and multifamily assets and projects with a combined value of more than $1 billion.
The firm, which is based in Summit, noted that the deals include nine projects across the country, comprising 18 buildings with more than 3.7 million square feet of space in total. Much of that activity in 2023 centered on its fast-growing cold storage platform, where it capitalized investments valued at more than $600 million and totaling more than 2 million square feet of development.
Saxum also recently recapitalized a series of projects in partnership with BGO, including seven modern cold storage buildings that total over 1.7 million square feet across the Phoenix, Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth regions, as well as Reno, Nevada, and Hazelton, Pennsylvania. It also capitalized the development of a 262,000-square-foot facility in Charleston, South Carolina, which is set to break ground this quarter.
The firm, meantime, plans to expand its portfolio with more than 1 million square feet in its current pipeline across the U.S.
“While the last 18 months have proven to be the most challenging real estate investing environments since the (Great Financial Crisis), Saxum continues to excel and chart a path forward regardless of the economic cycle,” said Anthony Rinaldi, Saxum’s founder and managing principal. “I am incredibly proud of the extraordinary tenacity and grit the entire Saxum team has shown during this time. The commitment and dedication from our partners and team has made all of our successes possible and we look forward to continuing our mission together in 2024.”
Saxum’s other recent transactions include a deal with Morgan Stanley, in which the partners acquired a seven-building, 1.2 million-square-foot light industrial portfolio in East Hanover for $200 million. The firm also fully capitalized its $200 million, 466-unit, luxury multifamily development in the heart of Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties section, securing equity from a large international family office.
All told, its capital partners in the transactions included BGO, Morgan Stanley and two large family offices with financing provided by PGIM Real Estate, QuadReal and Corebridge Financial, according to a news release. JLL supported Saxum in various capacities, including equity and debt as well as investment sales, with a team that included Marc Duval, Jose Cruz, Michael Klein, Tom Didio, Ryan Ade, Jordan Avanzato, Nick Stefans, Jason Lundy and Austin Pierce.
“Saxum’s ability to source opportunities, develop, reposition real estate and operate to institutional standards speaks to their deep knowledge and execution expertise,” said Duval, a managing director at JLL. “We are continually impressed by the exceptional results and trajectory of Saxum. The recent capital commitments are a testament to their dedicated and hard-working team.”
Saxum, BGO partner for recap of 1.5 million sq. ft. national cold storage portfolio
