Trammell targets East Coast shipping

The real estate development and investment firm acquires 310 acres of industrial land in South Carolina saying increasing costs at West coast ports and rising demand from Asian shipping companies is boosting the attractiveness of East coast shipping-related investments.

Trammell Crow Company has acquired 310 acres of industrial land in South Carolina in a bid to take advantage of rising demand for properties along East Coast shipping corridors.

The Dallas-based investment firm plans to develop a seven-building, three-million-square-foot business park on the land, with work expected to start this month.

Curt Grantham, senior managing director of Trammell’s Carolinas business unit, said in a statement a combination of rising shipping costs along the US’ west coast and increasing demand from Asian shipping companies had “contributed to substantial growth in East coast shipping.”

The 310-acre parcel of land in Summerville – 20 miles from the Charleston port industrial area, Grantham said, would allow the firm to take advantage of a lack of distribution space and inventory.

Trammell, which raises value-added and opportunistic real estate funds, is part of Richard Ellis, after being bought by the company in 2006 in a $2.2 billion deal.  Last year, Trammell entered into a $1 billion joint venture with ING Clarion to develop new office space across the US.