Fall River, MA VMD Companies, LLC has sold a 16.3-acre lot to Freezepack Logistics, a national cold-storage third party logistics company, for an approximately 200,000 s/f development at the growing campus of Innovation Way Industrial Park.
VMD Companies fully owns the 900,800 s/f and purchased the 147-acre industrial park property, at 10 Innovation Way, in 2023. The sale price of the building lot to Freezepack was $10.75 million.
VMD will maintain the balance of the project to accommodate an additional 700,000 s/f of development spread between the remaining buildings and lots.
The project is adjacent to major highways and population centers and is designed to accommodate a host of business uses such as cold storage, logistics and manufacturing.
FreezPak will develop a 203,397 s/f Class A cold storage facility at the site. The company is expected to break ground in early 2025.
Site work and infrastructure construction on the balance of the campus is expected to begin in early 2025, while VMD is negotiating with potential companies on a build-to-suit basis.
“Innovation Way and the Southcoast market have quickly become primary targets for cold storage in the greater Boston market,” said Phil Down, CEO and co-founder of VMD Company. “The campus lends itself to future cold storage and manufacturing users with ample utility infrastructure and market-leading clear-height entitlements. “
“We are thrilled to welcome a reputable company like Freezepack to the park to begin this development and are equally excited about what the future holds for the balance of the project,” said Down. “This is the first phase of becoming an economic engine within the market by providing modern facilities for growth-oriented companies.”
The Innovation Way campus is located across a 1.4 million s/f Amazon distribution center and is adjacent to Rte. 24, which connects to I-495 and New Bedford and Providence.
James Vitus II is founder and executive chairman of VMD Company, now in his 20th yearm year
Earlier this month, VMD Companies sold 40 Strafello Dr. in Avon, a 93,100 s/f industrial building on 6.23 acres in Avon Industrial Park, to Sion Group and Morgan Stanley for $17.3 million. VMD bought 40 Strafello Dr. three years ago for $5.4 million and has added value by restoring the building and doing a full redemption campaign.
That sale represents a significant capital transaction in an interest rate environment that has made real estate transactions extremely difficult over the past 18 to 24 months.
VMD Companies is actively acquiring and relocating existing industrial assets as part of its investment thesis and has approved and developed more than two million s/f of modern high-bay industry throughout the Commonwealth.
In early 2023, VMD built a 98,150-square-foot warehouse at 2 Monarch Dr. in Littleton, MA, designed for PODS, in Clearwater, FL. North American moving and storage company based in the Northeast as a corporate distribution center. The building was completed last December.
In 2017, VMD Companies entered into a joint venture to purchase and redevelop the former Necco Confectionery building in Revere, later leasing it to Amazon and selling the 50-acre property to Clarion Partners, LLC of New York for $355 million.