Retail Investors Board the Industrial Train

It was bound to happen. Investors from all other asset classes are starting to look at opportunities in industrial, and now retail investors are climbing aboard the train. Partners Capital, which typically focuses on shopping centers and regional malls, acquired a 92,000-square-foot industrial center in San Bernardino as a retail/ecommerce play, and it is a growing trend. We sat down with Mark Blumenthal, VP of acquisitions at Partners Capital, for an exclusive interview to talk about their shift into industrial and the emerging trend in the market.

GlobeSt.com: Have you seen a major increase in retail investors trading into industrial assets? When did this trend start?

Blumenthal: Yes, we have seen many of our peers/competitors whom were previously investing primarily neighborhood & regional shopping centers shifting focus away from big-box heavy retail sites to third-party logistics industrial buildings here in the West Coast. This shift seems more readily apparent over the past 14-18 months, while we’ve adjusted our focus to industrial over the past 18 – 30 months.