AEW Capital and Northpoint Secure $78M Industrial Refi from PGIM

The industrial market in Baltimore is raking in the cash lately.

A joint venture between AEW Capital Management and Northpoint Development has secured a $78 million refinancing loan from PGIM Real Estate toward four warehouses at the Wagner’s Point industrial area just outside Baltimore, according to Business Journals.

One of the warehouses, at 1713 East Patapsco Avenue, was built in the late 1970s. The JV developed the other three, at 1600, 1701 and 1747 East Patapsco Avenue, after it bought the land there in 2022 for $1.5 million. The facilities are part of the same complex dubbed the Harbor Logistics Center.

“Baltimore’s industrial market continues to benefit from strong fundamentals, including its proximity to major city centers and access to nearby shipping ports which have reopened,” said Tom Goodsite, PGIM managing director, in a statement. “We are excited to have the opportunity to lend to a trusted partner and help them to continue to provide high-quality industrial space to serve tenant demand through creative redevelopment of this previous chemical manufacturing location, adjacent to the harbor.”

The news is welcome for a region still recovering from the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster earlier this year, in which a malfunctioning container ship struck and destroyed most of the bridge, killing six people. Tons of debris were also left scuttled in the Patapsco River, blocking access to one of the top ports on the East Coast and forcing the reroute of trucks and commuters through other parts of Baltimore.

The first ship to pass through the cleaned-up channel made the journey in late April, though chunks of the bridge are still sitting at the bottom of the deep waterway and experts say a new bridge may not be completed until 2030 at the earliest. 

Other industrial properties in the Baltimore region have fared well in the first half of this year. A warehouse at 1000 Franklin Square Drive in Nottingham, Md., was acquired by Stoltz Real Estate Partners for $41 million in early April, not long after the bridge collapsed.

Knott Realty Group meanwhile began construction on a pair of speculative industrial facilities, with a combined footprint of over 276,000 square feet, in late May.Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.