South Korean group buys Academy Sports HQ, distribution center for $190M

1.5 million-square-foot facility is in Houston suburb of Katy

Newmark's Alex Foshay with Academy Sports headquarters and distribution center (Newmark)
Newmark's Alex Foshay with Academy Sports headquarters and distribution center (Newmark)

Phoenix-based Tratt Properties sold the headquarters and distribution center of Academy Sports and Outdoors near Houston for $190 million.

South Korea-based Mirae Asset Global Investments bought the retailer’s 1.5 million-square-foot facility, according to an April 20 announcement. Academy Sports leases the center on a long-term, absolute triple net-lease basis.

The 93-acre property, at 1800 North Mason Road in Katy, Texas, has 1.25 million square feet of industrial warehouse space, 250,000 square feet of flex office space and about 800,000 square feet of mezzanine space, according to the release from real estate firm Newmark. The site is a mile north of Interstate 10 and 2 miles east of Highway 99.

International investor Mirae’s purchase underscores the heightened interest in real estate investments in Texas, which has become a landing spot for corporate headquarters relocations and company expansions over the pandemic.

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Newmark’s Alex Foshay, Ken Hedrick, Jerry Hopkins, Kristian Nielsen and Andrew Ragsdale represented the seller. Newmark’s Dustin Stolly, Jordan Roeschlaub and Nick Scribani handled financing for the buyer.

Foshay, vice chairman and divisional head of international capital markets for Newmark, said in a statement that overseas groups are interested in investing in non-coastal markets in the U.S.

“With demographic and population shifts being a key indicator, Sunbelt markets—like Houston and Texas, overall—continue to grow in market share of foreign direct investment,” Foshay said.

Overseas investors bought $70.8 billion of commercial real estate last year, according to data from Real Capital Analytics reported by the Wall Street Journal. The total almost doubled from 2020 and reached the highest overall total since 2018, when investors spent $94.6 billion. Investor focus has also shifted from office buildings and hotels in major cities like San Francisco and New York to warehouses, rental apartments and pharmaceutical office buildings, the Journal reported.

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