Press Release | June 14, 2021
Equus Capital Partners, Ltd. (“Equus”), one of the nation’s leading developers and private equity real estate investment managers, announced that it has entered into a 10-year, build-to-suit lease agreement with subsidiaries of The Clorox Company, Fresh Step® cat litter and Kingsford® grilling products, for 580,000 square-feet of warehouse distribution space in the Mid-Atlantic 81 Logistics Park in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
The Mid-Atlantic 81 Logistics Park is located off of Exit 8 (Tabler Station Road) along the Interstate 81 (“I-81”) corridor in Berkeley County, West Virginia, approximately 85 miles west of Washington, D.C. The warehouse/distribution building will feature 36’clear height, cross docks, all-concrete truck courts, ESFR sprinkler system, LED lighting, and a 7” concrete floor, and expandable to 868,000 SF. This new location will be used to support manufacturing operations. Clorox is currently constructing a manufacturing facility for its Fresh Step® cat litter brand approximately 1/3 of a mile from the Mid-Atlantic 81 Logistics Park. Additionally, there are two Kingsford® grilling products manufacturing plants located in the State of WV. These three operations will be supported by the new Class A warehouse/logistics facility upon its completion in the Spring of 2022.
“Equus is extremely proud to be a part of Clorox’s long- term plans in Berkeley County, West Virginia”, stated Dan DiLella Jr., Senior Vice President of Equus Capital Partners. “Berkeley County has been a good partner and we look forward to continuing to deliver successful projects that bring jobs and real estate tax growth to the region.” The Mid-Atlantic 81 Logistics Park is a 150-acre site that has been engineered to accommodate 1,917,000 SF in four (4) buildings. In 2018, Equus developed its first building in the park: a 356,000 SF warehouse for Proctor & Gamble. As Equus breaks ground on the building for Clorox, the firm will also be starting construction on a 324,000 SF speculative warehouse facility in the park. This building is available for lease immediately and will be completed during 1st quarter 2022. The fourth and final building in the park will be 369,000 SF and Equus anticipates development of that project sometime in 2022.
“This portion of Interstate 81 which includes Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia has become increasing popular for users over the past 10 years,” continued DiLella. “The region provides excellent access to major mid-Atlantic population centers. Additionally, the availability of quality labor and favorable real estate taxes are attracting more and more companies.”
“Clorox is proud to be continuing its investment in Berkeley County and West Virginia” said Margaret Butts, Martinsburg Distribution Manager at The Clorox Company. “This warehouse will support the operations of our three facilities in the state and we look forward to our continued efforts to have a positive impact on the local community.”
Brad Metzger and Liz Roberts of Cresa represented The Clorox Company and John Lesinski and Ben Luke of Colliers International represented Equus in the transaction.
