Boston private equity firm buys five industrial buildings in St. Pete

A Boston private equity firm specializing in real estate has bought a portfolio consisting of 1.4 million square feet in industrial space, with nearly 250,000 square feet of that space in St. Petersburg.

Taurus Investment Holdings bought the Sunbelt Infil Portfolio for an undisclosed amount. In addition to St. Petersburg, the properties are in Houston, Atlanta and Orlando. The properties include 51 tenants spread across 12 buildings with a vacancy rate of 3.85%

The St. Petersburg portion of the portfolio is made up of five properties totaling 230,542 square feet. The properties are spread out across two industrial parks, Metropointe Commerce Center and Westbay Corporate Center.

A spokesperson for Taurus says the company is not disclosing the sale prices for the properties and public records have not been updated. The properties were previously owned by St. Louis’ Summit Real Estate Group, which bought them in 2018 for $17.4 million.

The company, in a statement announcing the purchase, says that in the past five years it has bought more than 27 million square feet of logistics and distribution space in the United States. The strength of the industrial market, it says, is driven in part by e-commerce and “an evolving supply chain, putting the industrial market into overdrive from a demand perspective.”

Peter A. Merrigan, CEO of Taurus Investment Holdings, says the Sunbelt portfolio was a way for the company to buy into core markets which it's been active in for some time.

“One of the things we really like is the industrial sector’s ability to be a hedge against inflation, and this latest acquisition highlights our continued commitment to adding strategically located industrial assets to our substantial portfolio.”

With the purchase of the Sunbelt portfolio, Taurus’ industrial portfolio jumps to 16 million square feet with 96% of the space leased. As of 2021, Taurus, founded in 1976, says it has bought and developed more than 67 million square feet of residential, office, industrial, retail and other commercial real estate space valued at more than $9.8 billion.