International insurer spreads its wealth to Broward with $24M industrial deal

Zurich North America has just sealed its second big-ticket deal in South Florida during August.

The international insurer’s investment arm paid $23.6 million for a distribution center in Pompano Beach, sold by Atlanta developer Robinson Weeks Partners.

According to listing brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, which announced the deal, Zurich purchased the Class A warehouse at 3901 Northeast 12th Avenue near the Broward Health North hospital.

Measuring 202,210 square feet, the newly built distribution center was finished in 2014 by Robinson Weeks Partners and features 32-foot ceilings, high-power sprinkler systems and 125-foot truck courts. It’s fully occupied with tenants including Restoration Hardware, Sunbelt Marketing and RWC, a firearms company. The deal breaks down to $117 per square foot.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Mike Davis, Rick Brugge, Michael Lerner and Richard F. Etner represented the seller for this deal. Zurich handled the sale in-house with Roy Rosenbaum, director of acquisition, and Sean Bannon, head of the company’s U.S. real estate division.

Just lask week, Zurich’s investment arm made a splash in downtown Fort Lauderdale when it closed on the $46.5 million purchase of Plaza 100, an office tower with asking rents averaging $23.5 per square foot. — Sean Stewart-Muniz