An Atlanta-based real estate investment firm is adding $1B in warehouses and distribution centers to its portfolio from Blackstone’s Link Logistics.

Stonemont, in a joint venture with Los Angeles-based PCCP, bought a 38-building portfolio totaling 5.9M SF in markets including Austin, central Florida, Charlotte, Dallas and Phoenix, the company announced in a Wednesday press release. The projects add to Stonemont’s 15M SF industrial portfolio.

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo financed the transaction, and Eastdil Secured brokered the debt execution.

“We carefully curated this portfolio by emphasizing properties that sit at the intersection of population growth, cross-border trade activity and tenant demand,” Stonemont President Bryan Blasingame said in the release. “These assets, which consist of bulk and light industrial properties, come with a stable, long-term tenant base.”

Stonemont declined a request to identify the properties it acquired.

The purchase comes as the national industrial market is showing a turnaround from its slower period. For the first time after two years of steady increases, the U.S. vacancy rate fell by 7 basis points to 7.3% in the second quarter, Colliers reported, with Indianapolis, Phoenix, Charleston, South Carolina, and Columbus, Ohio, demonstrating the biggest drops in empty space.

At the same time, companies absorbed 59M SF in the second quarter, more than double the 27M SF tallied in the same period last year and up 17% from the first quarter, according to Colliers. Absorption leaders included Houston at 7.6M SF, Dallas-Fort Worth at 4.7M SF, and Atlanta at 4.5M SF.

Investors have been focused on the Sun Belt and Midwest industrial markets, where demand has been stronger than supply, according to a Marcus & Millichap report.

Link said the artificial intelligence revolution has benefited its industrial portfolio, with 15% of new leases linked to data center-related tenants, Bloomberg reported.

Link has sold other properties in recent months, including a 17K SF warehouse used by FedEx in Boston to Stockbridge Capital Group for $45M and two flex industrial buildings totaling 142K SF in suburban Atlanta to Faropoint in May for $20.1M.

Gantry has secured a $16 million permanent loan to refinance the Kirkland Business Center located at 11860 NE 112th St in Kirkland, Washington.

Originally delivered in 1962 and 1969, the 104,000-square-foot, multi-tenant buildings are 100% leased to a range of small bay tenants. Gantry’s Principals Mike Wood and Mike Taylor, and Senior Associate Tim Brown, with the firm’s Seattle production office, represented the borrower, a private real estate investor. The seven-year, fixed-rate loan was provided by one of Gantry’s correspondent insurance company lenders and features cash-out proceeds with full-term interest-only payments. Gantry will service the loan on behalf of the lender.

“Well-located Puget Sound multi-tenant industrial continues to be a preferred allocation target for our network of insurance company lenders,” said Wood. “Their stable, fixed-rate permanent programs are attractive for legacy hold investors seeking to capitalize on long-term appreciation, historic performance, and strong operating metrics.”

A tightening industrial vacancy rate and a diminishing development pipeline have pushed Dallas-Fort Worth to the upper echelon of U.S. warehouse and logistics markets. 

Marcus & Millichap ranked DFW No. 3 on its new 2026 National Industrial Index as private investors have fueled metrowide transaction growth. Trading increased by around 40% year-over-year through the first quarter in DFW, thanks to a nearly 50% increase in transactions in the $1M to $10M range.

The national brokerage firm attributed that increase to DFW’s rising long-term investment demand due to the region’s robust employment growth, growing leasing momentum and diminishing supply. 

Courtesy of CapRock Partners

CapRock Partners broke ground on the 250K SF McKinney Air Business Park near the McKinney National Airport earlier this year.

“DFW is seen across the nation as a hub [for employment], with a diversified economy, massive population growth, good infrastructure,” Marcus & Millichap Senior Managing Director of Investments Adam Abushagur said of the factors that play into investors’ confidence in the metro. “We’ve been less affected by this cycle compared to a lot of other markets across the U.S, such as an LA, a New York and so on.”

Charlotte and Orlando, Florida, topped the industrial index, and the rest of the top 10 was filled out by Sun Belt and Midwest cities with a strong supply-demand balance, while Los Angeles and New York City were at Nos. 20 and 21, respectively. The declining development pipeline has tempered vacancy risks in DFW and many Sun Belt and Midwest markets, according to Marcus & Millichap’s 2026 Industrial Investment Midyear Outlook.

Marcus & Millichap projected DFW will add around 40,000 net new jobs in 2026. That employment growth, coupled with the region’s expanding population, is fueling just about all project types in the region, Abushagur said. 

For the industrial sector, employment and population growth mean more warehouse space is needed as more products need to be manufactured and delivered. Plus, more small businesses are occupying shallow-bay spaces, which is also contributing to the region’s tightening vacancy rate. 

DFW completions are projected to hit their lowest level since 2013, pushing the sector’s vacancy rate down to 8.9% in the first quarter. That’s the region’s lowest rate in three years.

Industrial demand has been strong in DFW for several years, but investors’ appetites have shifted away from the smaller infill assets that had been most popular, according to Trey McGhin, a principal at the land brokerage and investment firm Dosch Marshall Real Estate.

“Over the last 12 months, institutional equity has really returned for the industrial development market, and that, coupled with the tightening vacancy rates and supply being at a lower point, groups are now … really trying to pursue bigger product again,” McGhin said.

That has led to investors making deals in the higher-growth areas of the metro have more available land for development. Areas like Denton, South Dallas, Rockwall, Royce City, Terrell, Forney and Waxahachie are seeing renewed demand because of the desire to build 500K SF to 1M SF facilities, McGhin said.

McKinney has emerged as the hottest industrial market in DFW over the last year. Despite having one of the smallest industrial footprints in the region, it boasts some of DFW’s highest rents, thanks to tremendous growth around the expanding McKinney National Airport.

While McGhin expects demand to remain strong in the submarket, many of the best deals have already been done. 

“You’re starting to get to the point where a lot of those McKinney opportunities are more picked over,” McGhin said. “They still exist, but there’s definitely going to be more push to be on sort of the east side of the airport.”

Developers have also moved north of McKinney to the emerging city of Melissa for industrial opportunities, according to McGhin. 

The Fort Worth logistics corridor, northeast Dallas and the South Stemmons submarket are also expected to continue attracting investor attention this year, Marcus & Millichap reported. 

Abushagur attributed the increased investor confidence in DFW to the region’s status as a steady market on the national scene. McGhin said the return of institutional equity has also boosted investor confidence in getting deals capitalized. 

“When times are tough, it’s a lot easier to find $15M from a capital group than it is to go find $40M from a capital group,” McGhin said. “With the leasing being stronger, vacancy being tighter … and there just being more liquidity in the industrial capital markets, all of that is leading to more and larger deal activity.”

The City of Cleveland announced The Midline, a 350-plus acre redevelopment project that will convert long-vacant industrial land on the city’s near east side into a connected employment district, with
new trails, parks and transit access.

The development project, driven by The Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund (SRF), brings together fragmented, underutilized parcels along the Norfolk Southern rail corridor to form a unified district. A complete master planning project is underway for the site, led by the design teams of Merritt Chase and Utile.

The Midline is being developed as a district-wide strategy rather than a single-user project, with the goal of attracting larger-scale employers across manufacturing, research and development, office and supporting service sectors. Plans call for at least 1.5 million square feet of new industrial and commercial space, supporting more than 2,500 direct jobs within reach of public transit. At full build-out, the project is projected to generate up to $100 million in annual tax revenue for the city.

JLL Capital Markets said Thursday it had completed Project Bronco, a multi-submarket industrial portfolio totaling 365,774 square feet in Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Valley and Orange County submarkets. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Senior managing director Patrick Nally, senior directors Ryan Spradling and Evan Moran, director Makenna Peter and associate Shae Vomund represented the confidential seller.

Totaling five assets, the portfolio was marketed by JLL and was ultimately split between two buyers. EQT Real Estate and Berkeley Partners each acquired separate assets from the portfolio through distinct closings.

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Ambrose announced the signing of three separate leases with occupiers at modern industrial facilities in Cincinnati, Denver and Orlando, totaling over 190,000 square feet of space.

Sky Café, a subsidiary of PrimeFlight Aviation Services that provides catering logistics for commercial airlines, has leased 16,640 square feet at Building III of Ascent Commerce Center, a multi-tenant industrial park comprised of three industrial buildings in the Denver Airport submarket. The leasing agent for the park is the locally-based Cushman & Wakefield team.

OSH Cut, a manufacturing firm, leased 69,659 square feet in Building II of Cincinnati Logistics Park – Airport West, a modern, four-building, 84.77-acre industrial development in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky market. The leasing agent for the park is a local Colliers International team.

A confidential technology subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company has signed a 103,878-square-foot, full-building lease at Ambrose’s Orlando Logistics Park at LeeVista in Orlando, Florida. The leasing agent for the park is a JLL team.

Global Net Lease, Inc. (GNL) and Modiv Industrial, Inc, announced on Monday a definitive merger agreement under which GNL will acquire Modiv in an all-stock transaction valued at an enterprise value of approximately $535 million. The transaction, once completed, will provide GNL with an attractive portfolio of high-quality mission-critical industrial properties across the U.S. GNL intends to fully repay all of Modiv’s existing balance sheet debt and pay off Modiv’s preferred stock using its revolving credit facility and cash on hand.

“We believe this transaction is a compelling opportunity for GNL to expedite our transition to earnings growth in 2026 following the completion of our deleveraging initiative while continuing to reduce our office exposure,” said Michael Weil, CEO of GNL. “Modiv has thoughtfully assembled a high-quality portfolio of industrial net-lease assets that provide durable and predictable cash flows that align well with our objectives of enhancing earnings and long-term portfolio quality.”

Aaron Halfacre, president and CEO of Modiv, added, “We have long believed that our portfolio’s quality was historically mispriced by the marketplace and that we would be receptive if someone sought to close the value gap sooner than we could. Over the past year, Modiv attracted substantial interest from a range of suitors, including multiple unsolicited offers, but GNL distinguished itself through the long-term opportunity this transaction creates.”

Pictured: A Modiv-owned cold storage facility in Yuma, AZ.

When Google leases a large industrial space in North Carolina, it can push the needle of local industrial leasing toward positive absorption.

The Googleplex, Google’s headquarters in Mountain View

Google has been named as the new lessee of a massive industrial warehouse in Rowan County and is eyeing an adjacent site as well, the Charlotte Business Journal reported. 

The 723K SF building, referred to as KC 100, is located in the Overlook 85 industrial park at 1894 Old Beatty Ford Road. Documents show the company has an 88-month lease term, the Observer reported. Google has two five-year renewal options for the space.

The warehouse was developed by New Jersey-based Hudson Capital Properties.

A 1M SF industrial building is planned for the adjacent site, KC 300, and Google has the first rights to lease it, the CBJ reported.

There is no information yet on how Google will utilize KC 100.

The company has maintained a presence in North Carolina for 15 years and has offices in Durham. Last month, Google announced a $1B investment to expand its data center campus in Caldwell County. It is also building a data center near Charleston, South Carolina.

The single lease makes up a significant portion of the region’s total industrial occupancy gains so far in 2026.

Net absorption in Charlotte surpassed 1M SF in the first quarter this year, the third consecutive quarter the local market has reached this figure, according to a Colliers industrial market report.

The report found that steady leasing demand and moderate supply growth helped to bring vacancy down to 8.13%. That vacancy rate should remain stable in the near term, the report states.

A Q1 CBRE industrial report stated that big-box availability for space over 500K SF remains “notably scarce,” causing supply limitations for larger users. The space that Google occupied was one of the few remaining big-box industrial spaces in the area, the CBJ reported.

Courtesy of Merriman Schmitt Architects

Construction is well underway on the final undeveloped site in the Pineville industrial corridor in the Charlotte metro area.

The last large-scale development there, the Pineville Distribution Center, will be a 194K SF Class-A industrial facility some 15 miles south of Charlotte, according to a Jan. 26 press release from Iconic Equities.

Iconic Equities, a Miami-based industrial real estate investment firm, led rezoning efforts for the center last year along with Shoreline Capital. Along with Iconic Overlook Ventures and LaSalle Investment Management, Iconic Equities is developing the project. 

Iconic Equities CEO Tim Bishop declined to provide details on the price tag for the development.

The 15-acre site is at 10203 Pineville Distribution St. on 15 acres in Mecklenburg County, with good access to I-485 and I-77.

The new facility will reportedly be used as a build-to-suit warehouse for distribution. Construction began in November and is expected to be completed later this year.

“Being the last available site adds scarcity value,” Bishop said in an email. “And the location is already proven, with major tenants in the nearby Carolina Logistics Park.”

The 288-acre Carolina Logistics Park features a 525K SF distribution center for Campbell Snacks and a 526K SF Amazon facility.

Beacon Properties developed the nearby logistics park, which has more than 3M SF of industrial space, and last year sold much of it amid deals totaling some $500M. 

“The Charlotte market is experiencing exceptional demand for high-quality industrial properties, fueled by population growth, e-commerce expansion, and regional manufacturing strength,” Bishop said. 

Industrial vacancy in the Charlotte metro area dropped at the end of last year to 7.5%, according to CBRE, backed by 2.3M SF of net absorption. For the year, tenants took 9.5M SF more than they vacated in the metro area.  

CBRE’s outlook for 2026 predicts a 5% year-over-year increase in national industrial leasing activity to nearly 1B SF. 

Walls have been tilted at Colton Commerce Center, a four-building 182,123-square-foot Class A industrial park with buildings ranging from 40,000 to 50,000 square feet located in a federally designated Opportunity Zone at 2245 West Valley Blvd. in Colton. The buildings at this Inland Empire development are available for sale or lease, with construction scheduled for completion in December 2025. 

JLL’s team of Cody Clayton, Scott Coyle and Jay Cuccia are marketing the property on behalf of ownership. “Unlike standard industrial building acquisitions, which offer no capital gains deferral or exemption, ownership at Colton Commerce Center allows buyers to eliminate federal capital gains tax on appreciation if held for 10 years, translating into millions in long-term savings,” said Clayton.

He continued, “Purchasing one of the buildings at the property would allow owner-users to avoid exposure to future rent and building cost increases while securing space in one of the most sought-after industrial markets in the United States.”

On June 18, join industry-leading experts when they explore the most important topics in today’s CRE markets. Register to attend and hear expert insights first-hand, network with the best in the industry, and sit in on discussions you won’t hear anywhere else. The 9th Annual Connect Los Angeles 2025, June 18 at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown.