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Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT II Closes on Michigan Office Buy

El Segundo, CA-based Griffin Capital Corp. on behalf of Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT II Inc. has closed on the purchase of a 120,000-square-foot class A office and research and development facility. The property is located within the Oakland Technology Park in Auburn Hills, MI. The purchase price was $17.75 million.

The seller was General Development Co., a full-service real-estate development company based in Southfield, Michigan. The property is leased to Atlas Copco Assembly Systems LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atlas Copco AB, a publicly-traded, Stockholm based manufacturer of compressors, construction and mining tools and equipment, power tools, and assembly systems.

Shawn Carstens, Griffin Capital’s VP of acquisitions, says that “As the tenant’s headquarters in North America and sole U.S. location, the acquisition of the property represented an excellent opportunity to add another business essential asset to the REIT.” In addition, he says, “we believe the property is located in one of the healthiest and fastest growing industrial submarkets in Detroit and benefits from strong real estate fundamentals.”

Don Pescara, Griffin Capital’s managing director of Acquisitions adds that “the significant infrastructure investments the tenant has made to customize the building to its specifications, as well as Atlas Copco’s investment-grade credit rating and long-term lease commitment, were all factors that made this an attractive investment.”

Constructed in 2014 as a build-to-suit for Atlas Copco Assembly Systems as their North American headquarters, the building is utilized for the assembly, testing, and research and development of prototypes of industrial tooling, fastening, and compressor devices and related products.

The DI Wire reported on this deal earlier this quarter when also reporting on another acquisition—a to-be-built, 312,000-square-foot distribution warehouse in Groveport, Ohio, which was purchased for $16.148 million and fully leased to Exel Inc.

GCEAR II’s objective is to invest in income-producing property and provide regular cash distributions to investors. It seeks to provide income through acquiring office and industrial properties that it deems to be essential to the corporate tenants that occupy the spaces.