Wheelock JV Lands $57M for Boston-Area Facility

A joint venture between Wheelock Street Capital and Camber Development has landed $57 million in construction financing for the development of a 237,800-square-foot logistics facility in Wilmington, Mass. JLL Capital Markets worked on behalf of the borrower to secure the three-year loan from a national bank.

The developer acquired the 28-acre site in 2022 for $35.3 million, according to CommercialEdge data. Vertical construction is already underway, while completion is scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

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Features at the Class A warehouse will include 36-foot clear heights, 47 dock-high loading doors and two drive-in doors, 332 car parking spaces and 33 trailer stalls, along with 32 EV charging stations. Additionally, the property will be one of the first fully electric warehouses in the state, according to the developer.

The facility is rising at 800 Salem St., providing easy access to interstates 93, 495 and 95. The Port of Boston is within 17 miles, while downtown Boston is 18.3 miles southeast. Boston Logan International Airport is some 19 miles away.

The JLL Capital Markets team included Senior Managing Directors Steven Klein and Brett Paulsrud, along with Director Ryan Parker.

A long-term partnership

Wheelock Street Capital and Camber Development started their partnership in 2020, aiming to invest some $500 million into manufacturing, logistics and life science assets in the Greater Boston Area. In 2021, the duo acquired 101 Billerica Ave., a six-building, 450,000-square-foot R&D, office and industrial campus in Billerica, Mass.

The venture also acquired 160 Dascomb Road in Andover, Mass.—a 126,000-square-foot R&D and industrial building that was fully leased at the time of sale. That property last traded in 2019, when an affiliate of NorthBridge Partners purchased it for $26.3 million.

Greater Boston’s industrial pipeline shrinks

According to the latest CommercialEdge industrial report, Greater Boston had an under-construction pipeline of just 2.1 million square feet as of November, or a 0.9 percent expansion of its existing inventory. In line with national trends, the pipeline shrunk from previous years, as the high cost of capital made developers more cautious with spending.

In June, Hines broke ground on a 146,409-square-foot Class A distribution facility in Chelsea, Mass. The development is expected to come online later this year.