Bridge Industrial buys 13-acre site in Kent for large warehouse

Chicago-based Bridge Industrial has bought a 13-acre site in Kent to be the home of an 180,000-square foot warehouse.

The site, 7730 S. 202nd St., is a former Maralco Aluminium smelter that operated from 1980 to 1986. Bridge announced its acquisition in a July 19 news release. Bridge paid a private seller $8.51 million for the site on June 28, 2023, according to King County property records.

Bridge will be conducting extensive environmental remediation from the 40 years of contamination before it breaks ground on the new development in the first quarter of 2024, according to the news release. Construction is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2025.

The facility will be known as Bridge Point Kent 180.

Taylor Hoff and Thad Mallory, of New York-based Newmark, represented the seller in the transaction and will also serve as Bridge’s leasing agents for the project.

“Transforming this blighted, unsafe, and unproductive piece of land into an active, healthy job site is a key part of Bridge’s core strategy — and we are eager to continue our stewardship of both an improved environment and a strong local economy,” said Justin Carlucci, partner, Northwest Region at Bridge. “Bridge Point Kent 180’s location and design will cater to a large variety of modern, cutting-edge tenants looking to enter this submarket, such as e-commerce, logistics and cold storage users. New, state-of-the-art industrial facilities exceeding 150,000 square feet are in high demand and we look forward to delivering a high-value warehouse.”

Upon completion, the facility will feature 36-foot clear heights; 27 dock high doors; three grade level doors; 3,000 amps of powering capability; 12 future positions for trailer parking; and 219 stalls for car parking, according to the company. Additionally, the building’s design will be in accordance with LEED Certified standards.

Bridge Point Kent 180 is the latest in a series of Bridge acquisitions and developments in the Seattle region, following Bridge Point Kent 300 and Bridge Point Kent 100, according to the news release. The firm preleased 50,000 square feet of Bridge Point Kent 300 — two state-of-the-art facilities totaling 309,028 square feet — ahead of its completion in the second quarter of 2022, and leased the remainder of the space by the fourth quarter of 2022.

Bridge Point Kent 300 was built at the former REI headquarters at the northwest corner of 68th Avenue South and South 228th Street. Bridge bought the 15.8 acres from REI for $24.6 million in 2020, according to King County property records. Bridge Point Kent 100 is at 26524 79th Ave. S., and has 97,522 square feet of industrial space.

Bridge continues to grow its presence in the Pacific Northwest region, having acquired over 8 million square feet of Class A industrial buildings across major markets in Washington and Oregon to date, according to the company. Bridge continues to pursue opportunities to acquire and develop industrial properties in supply-constrained core infill markets to meet the strong market demand for sizable, modern facilities.

Since its inception in 2000, Bridge has successfully acquired and developed more than 72 million square feet of industrial buildings/projects, according to the company. Its core industrial markets are in Chicago, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and London.