EL PASO, Texas – June 8, 2016 – On behalf of affiliates of Dallas-based Covington Group Inc., CBRE announces the acquisition of the 548,629-square-foot Butterfield Trail portfolio. Covington Group is already underway with a multi-million dollar capital improvement project for the six-building industrial portfolio in El Paso, Texas. Affiliates of Covington Group acquired the portfolio from Butterfield Trail Trust 1 earlier this year for an undisclosed price.
Covington Group has hired Christian Perez Giese and Chad McCleskey, with CBRE’s El Paso office, as the portfolio’s leasing agents.
The portfolio, made up of warehouse and flex buildings, was 69 percent occupied at the time of purchase. The most significant capital improvements are underway at 19 Leigh Fisher, where there is a 120,000-square-foot vacancy. These capital improvements include a white box inside the warehouse area, new exterior and interior lighting, exterior paint and landscaping, as well as removal of a former tenant’s manufacturing infrastructure and overall deferred maintenance to the property. Covington expects to complete improvements to the entire portfolio by this summer.
Ken Sheer, President and CEO of Covington says he has a very positive feeling about the market: “We have owned industrial property in El Paso for years and continue to believe in the dynamics of the overall market. This acquisition aligns perfectly with Covington’s value-add program that we have successfully implemented in markets across the U.S.”
“The Covington acquisition of the Butterfield Trail portfolio is yet another investor making a strategic move into the El Paso industrial marketplace and specifically shows the continued resurgence of the Butterfield Trail submarket,” said Mr. Perez Giese, Senior Vice President and Director of CBRE’s El Paso/Ciudad Juárez office.
Mr. McCleskey added that “El Paso vacancy has improved from a recession low of 22 percent to 10 percent today. There have been several key leasing and investment sales in the park in the past twelve months and the fundamentals continue to improve.”
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2015 revenue). The Company has more than 70,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 400 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
