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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORT PROPERTIES, INC. ACQUIRES THE SHAW AERO DESIGN & MANUFACTURING CENTER IN NAPLES, FLORIDA; ONE OF THE LARGEST COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS CLOSING OUT 2007
NAPLES, Fla., [January 9, 2008] — Los Angeles, California-based FORT Properties, Inc. has acquired the Shaw Aero Design & Manufacturing Facility located at 3580 Shaw Boulevard in Naples, Florida. The acquisition closed on December 21, 2007 and terms of the private deal were not made public. The announcement was made by FORT Properties, Inc. President and CEO Duke Runnels.
The Shaw Aero Design and Manufacturing Facility is a Class “A” facility comprised of a three-story office building, a one-story manufacturing building and a one-story testing building — totaling 131,997 square feet. The property is 100 percent leased through 2022 to Shaw Aero Devices, Inc., a world leader in the design and manufacture of proprietary components and systems for the military and commercial aviation industry and a division of Parker Hannifin Corporation.
“FORT Properties was selected as the buyer because of the firm’s ability to finance and close on Class “A” properties even in this extremely challenging credit market,” says Charles Foschini of CBRE, who represented the seller in this transaction. “In doing our due diligence, we chose a buyer with an extraordinary reputation within the industry.”
In August 2007, FORT Properties similarly demonstrated its financial strength when it closed on three Class “A” properties in three states on a single day, which resulted in a completed offering of more than $80 million.
“Even in the tight capital market we saw in the second half of 2007 — particularly in December — FORT Properties was able to close and fund the loan within 30 days of signing the application. Much of this success was due to FORT’s reputation in the market for being a well organized and capitalized borrower and buyer,” commented Jeff Majewski, Senior Managing Director of CBRE | Capital Markets, CB Richard Ellis, who arranged financing for the transaction through Barclay’s Capital Real Estate.
FORT Properties purchased Shaw Aero Design & Manufacturing Facility from Shaw Aero Realty Corporation as represented by Charles Foschini, Christian Lee and Randy Mercer of CBRE. Jeff Majewski of CBRE | Capital Markets, CB Richard Ellis arranged financing through Barclay’s Capital Real Estate. FORT Properties was represented by the firm’s Vice President of Real Estate Robert Alter.
FORT Properties, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading sponsors of tenant-in-common investments and 1031 exchanges. Founded in 2004, FORT Properties targets Class “A” properties that offer reliable and consistent returns. The company purchases office and industrial properties in high growth and emerging areas that are generally in the $10 million to $75 million range. For more information, please visit http://www.fortproperties.com/acquis_criteria.cfm.