Approximately 1.9 million square foot facility to be leased back to Sears and Innovel Logistics to serve as its primary Southeast distribution hub.

HFZ-Reich has acquired the largest distribution center in Florida, a 1,937,892 square foot state-of-the-art facility that previously belonged to TransformCo, the parent company of Sears stores located throughout the United States. Purchased under a Sale-Leaseback agreement, HFZ-Reich will lease the facility to TransformCo under a ten-year agreement, which includes an option to renew for another ten-years. HFZ-Reich is a partnership between HFZ Capital Group, a leading Manhattan-based developer and investment firm and Reich Brothers, a New York based real estate firm with more than 25 years of experience purchasing, retrofitting, and managing Industrial real estate. The acquisition is a major addition to HFZ-Reich’s national portfolio of industrial properties.

Sears Distribution Center
Sears Distribution Center

The HFZ-Reich portfolio consists of multiple properties – including manufacturing, warehouse, distribution and flex office space - located throughout The US. Launched less than a year ago, the portfolio includes two significant campuses in Wisconsin: the former Heinz Kraft-owned Oscar Mayer plant, located in the heart of Madison, and the former Caterpillar Global Mining campus in Milwaukee. HFZ-Reich also has sizeable industrial acquisitions in Nashville, Buffalo, and Columbus. A number of the properties include additional land and development rights. As part of HFZ-Reich, HFZ will bring its expertise in ground up and restorative development to help develop mixed-use real estate opportunities. This includes the development of retail, multi-family, hotel and office properties.

“Our acquisition of the Transform-Innovel Distribution Center marks a major milestone for HFZ-Reich, expanding our portfolio to encompass 10 million square feet of industrial properties throughout the United States. We are excited to be entering the Ocala industrial market as it provides a major opportunity to be at the center of one of the country’s largest distribution centers,” said Ziel Feldman, Chairman and Founder of HFZ Capital Group.

HFZ-Reich will lease the Ocala facility to TransformCo to serve as the flagship location for its Southeast distribution operations serving its Sears stores with a core focus on its appliance and lawn and garden divisions. The facility, the largest distribution center in Florida and one of the largest in the United States, is known as the Transform-Innovel Distribution Center. It is located in Ocala, Florida off of I-75, which in recent years has emerged as one of the nation’s premier distribution markets.

“HFZ-Reich is committed to purchasing properties that provide untapped potential and we see tremendous growth opportunities with this latest acquisition. We are bullish on Ocala’s future as a major distribution market and feel the Transform-Innovel Distribution Center will be a premiere example of the potential that can be realized here,” said Jonathan Reich, Co-CEO of Reich Brothers.

HFZ currently has approximately 20 million square feet under ownership and development, across multiple markets and asset classes including residential, hotel, office, and retail, with total project values in excess of $10 billion. The firm is responsible for a wide array of some of the most exciting new, design forward, real estate development coming to market. HFZ has a team of more than 100 professionals spread across teams focusing on acquisitions, construction and development, sales and marketing, property management, and accounting, providing for full vertical integration. The partnership with Reich Brothers is HFZ’s first investment in the industrial real estate space.