Nov 4, 2015, 11:53am EST
Marty Finley Reporter Louisville Business First
A Houston-based real estate firm familiar with the Louisville market has made another major purchase here.
SparrowHawk Real Estate Strategists closed last week on the purchase of about 410,000 square feet of industrial space in three buildings from 3904 to 3910 Produce Road for more than $17.5 million, according to a property transfer listing.
The seller was Louisville-based Dixie Real Properties LLC. In all, the property is a little more than 30 acres and includes a 6.7-acre vacant parcel, according to Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator records. It’s between Poplar Level and Newburg roads, south of the Watterson Expressway.
Robert Moore, one of the owners of Louisville-based real estate firm Harry K. Moore Co., said his company represented Dixie Real Properties on the deal and that SparrowHawk made a strong offer that Dixie Real Properties could not turn down.
The three industrial buildings are fully occupied, and SparrowHawk will serve as owner and landlord. Alfredo Gutierrez, Sparrowhawk’s founder, said the firm does not plan any immediate upgrades to the property.
According to the SparrowHawk’s website, the company’s mission is to invest in industrial properties and upgrade their asset value for a strong return on investment.
Gutierrez said he has been buying and selling buildings in Louisville for years and that the city is one of his top markets for investment because of its dependability.
“It has strong fundamentals,” Gutierrez said of the Louisville industrial market. “It’s never overdeveloped. It tends to weather the storm.”
Moore said tenants at the Produce Road industrial facilities include Clearwater Fine Foods, Goodman Distribution Inc. and Container & Packaging Supply.
Gutierrez said SparrowHawk was looking to reinvest in the Louisville area after selling property it owned at 7100 Global Drive at Jefferson Riverport International in July for $21.3 million to 7100 Global Drive LLC, a New York-based holding Company owned by Moses Mizrahi.
As Business First previously reported, 7100 Global Drive is the former home of a Circuit City warehouse. It now houses a 305,000-square-foot sales and distribution center for Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, the nation’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler.
Gutierrez said SparrowHawk had all intentions of owning the Global Drive property long-term, but the offer to sell was too “compelling” to resist.
SparrowHawk bought the property in 2013 (when it was vacant) from CC Properties LLC for $5.3 million, according to PVA records.
In addition to the Produce Road properties, Sparrowhawk owns two warehouse buildings in Jeffersontown’s Bluegrass Commerce Park, totaling in the neighborhood of 170,000 square feet. Those properties are leased to Reinhart Foodservice LLC and Kaman Industrial Technologies Corp.
