Franklin BSP Realty Trust Lends $125M on Southwest Industrial Portfolio 

Investment firm Fundrise has secured a $125 million loan to refinance an industrial portfolio in the Southwest U.S., Commercial Observer can first report.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust (FBRT) provided the loan on Fundrise’s four single-tenant logistics assets in the metropolitan areas of Phoenix, Las Vegas and Dallas/Fort Worth.

“As a long-term owner and investor, industrial is an asset class we feel particularly optimistic about due to the clear demographic tailwinds and continued expansion of e-commerce,” Ben Miller, co-founder and CEO of Fundrise, said in a statement. “This financing lets us continue to lean into new acquisitions and grow our footprint while much of the market remains on the sidelines.”   

Michael Comparato, president of FBRT, credited Fundrise in a statement with having a successful track record of “leasing up these well-located assets.”

Fundrise purchased the portfolio, which is 95 percent leased to three tenants, with four separate acquisitions between February 2022 and June 2023. The properties are Cubes at Glendale in Litchfield, Ariz.; 8123 South Hardy in Tempe, Ariz.; I-215 Interchange Logistics Center in Las Vegas; and 4653 Nall Road in Farmers Branch, Texas.

Cushman & Wakefield (CWK) arranged the transaction with a team led by Rob Rubano, Brian Share, Max Schafer and Ernesto Sanchez, who represented the borrower. Will Strong of C&W’s national industrial advisory group also advised on the deal.

“This is a prominent portfolio of top-tier industrial products strategically located in some of the country’s most competitive and strongest performing industrial submarkets,” Share said in a statement. “The portfolio’s investment profile is supported by strong recent leasing and significant investment by the tenants, with some upside opportunity remaining via bringing the portfolio up to 100 percent occupancy.”

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.