Blackstone plans to build new Medley warehouse

The private equity firm acquired the property for $1.5M per acre

Fordome Investment Group’s Kris Rodriguez and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman (Credit: Getty Images, Google Maps)
Fordome Investment Group’s Kris Rodriguez and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman (Credit: Getty Images, Google Maps)

Blackstone has now acquired 18 acres in Medley where it will build a new warehouse, according to the seller.

In its latest deal, the New York-based private equity firm acquired a 2.2-acre property at 9800 Northwest 87th Avenue for $3.3 million from Miami-based Fordome Investment Group. The purchase adds to its growing industrial portfolio in South Florida.

The property sold for about $1.5 million per acre, which appears to be one of the highest prices per acre for an industrial property in Medley. Kris Rodriguez, managing director of Fordome Investment Group, said Blackstone plans to build the new Class A warehouse on the site. Blackstone declined to comment, according to a spokesperson.

Fordome Investment Group had bought the property in 2001 for $675,000, Rodriguez said. The company is led by Rodriguez and his father Francisco Rodriguez. The property was leased to a truck parts company and an automotive recycling company.
The site adds to an assemblage Blackstone started acquiring earlier this year. Blackstone acquired three other adjacent properties in Medley when it bought industrial real estate investment trust Gramercy Property Trust for $7.6 billion in May 2018.

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In July, Blackstone purchased two adjacent industrial vacant lots totaling 8.8-acres at 9700 Northwest South River Drive for $7.2 million, or $818,181 per acre.

The latest deal highlights institutional interest in industrial properties in South Florida. Companies like Blackstone and Prologis are betting big on industrial due to the rise of e-commerce. In the past two years, Blackstone Group purchased 36 properties in South Florida for a total of $417.4 million as of the third quarter of 2019, according to an analysis of Real Capital Analytics data by Avison Young.

The emergence of institutional players in South Florida has caused industrial property values to jump in price, making it more difficult for local players to compete in the market.

Fordome Investments was founded after the recession and purchased distressed multifamily properties in Miami’s Upper Eastside, Little River, and Little Haiti neighborhood. Today it primarily focuses on acquiring, renovating, holding and managing the assets, according to Kris Rodriguez.