By Kate Snyder
Activity in the Bay Area’s industrial market is about to heat up with the transfer of one of its most prominent properties. A more than 600,000-square-foot industrial campus in Newark that counts Meta as one of its tenants will soon see a new owner.
Terreno Realty is under contract to purchase the Morton Commerce Center, according to two sources familiar with the transaction. The deal is in escrow and is slated to close soon. According to one source in the industry with knowledge of the deal, the purchase price is approximately $190 million, roughly $317 per square foot, but because the sale hasn’t yet closed, the final price hasn’t been confirmed.
The property was developed by Overton Moore Properties in 2020. Cushman & Wakefield has the listing on the asset and the team marketing it includes Jeff Chiate, Rick Ellison and Mike Adey.
Located at 7395-7355 Morton Ave., the center sits on 31.4 acres. It totals 602,731 square feet in four buildings, with building one at 161,680 square feet, building two at 141,275 square feet, building three at 74,097 square feet and building four at 225,679 square feet, according to marketing information from Cushman & Wakefield. The Morton Commerce Center is 100 percent occupied by tenants Meta, Lucid Motors, RK Logistics and Pegasus Logistics. Meta signed a 225,679-square-foot lease at the center in 2019, according to previous reporting by The Registry.
The Morton Commerce Center features 30’-32’ clear heights, ESFR sprinklers, heavy power, abundant loading and solar-ready roofs, according to the marketing information. The campus is located in the heart of San Francisco’s East Bay industrial market, and according to Cushman & Wakefield, “this irreplaceable infill location is a true core investment opportunity in one of the strongest industrial markets in the nation.”
The Morton Commerce Center is just outside the main tech corridor that runs down the San Francisco Peninsula from San Mateo to San Jose, but is still home to several major companies. The site is located near the Dumbarton Bridge, State Route 84 and Interstate 880. Numerous big-name companies are located in the area, including Tesla, Amazon, Nordstrom, Bay Advanced Technologies and Worldpac.
Based in Torrance, Overton Moore Properties is a full service commercial real estate company, according to the firm’s website. Overton bought the project site from Morton Salt in 2017 for more than $30 million.
Terreno Realty is a real estate investment trust company that acquires, owns and operates industrial real estate in several major coastal U.S. markets, according to the firm’s website. The company is based in San Francisco.
