Family farm sells for $10.6M, paving way for 250 acres of industrial developments

Point 70 Logistics Park is expected to feature up to three logistics buildings with nearly 2 million square feet of industrial and office space. (Rendering courtesy of Opus Development Co.)

Former family farmland in the Mount Comfort corridor is being redeveloped for industrial buildings by an out-of-state firm.

Opus Development Co. plans to develop up to four buildings on nearly 250 acres at the southeast corner of North 700 West and West 300 North in Buck Creek Township, including a massive light-industrial facility that would be leased by Long Island, New York-based Atkins Nutritionals.

The redevelopment follows the sale of the Shelby family and Borgman-Spell family farms in recent years. In fact, the Borgman-Spell property was sold to Minneapolis-based Opus in a two-part deal worth $10.6 million that closed in May.

Michael Horrigan, an Indianapolis broker with South Bend-based Bradley Co. who represented the sellers, said in a news release the sale was partly delayed by the pandemic.

The northern part of the Borgman-Spell property is already being redeveloped for the 862,000-square-foot Atkins distribution facility. The structure is expected to be completed by September.

The 160-acre southern portion, which runs along Interstate 70, will be a larger industrial development called Point 70 Logistics Park. The project is a joint venture of Opus and Clarion Partners LLC and is expected to feature up to three logistics buildings with nearly 2 million square feet of industrial and office space. 

New York City-based Clarion is not involved in the Atkins project. Opus declined to share the development costs for the Atkins project or for Point 70.

“Mount Comfort is a great logistics submarket, because it sits on Interstate 70,” said Doug Swain, vice president and general manager of the Opus Indianapolis office. He added the labor market is beneficial for companies looking to develop in the corridor.

“That’s why you’ve seen other companies look at this area and start to make commitments out here. I think that’ll continue to the extent there’s available land,” he said.

Two of the speculative buildings at Point 70 are expected to begin construction in the coming weeks. The first is an 803,000-square-foot building with 460 parking spaces, 208 trailer stalls and 184 docks. It will have 40-foot clear heights.

The second is a 299,000-square-foot building with 216 parking spaces, 89 trailer stalls, 68 docks and 32-foot clear heights. Together, the buildings will occupy 88 acres and are expected to be completed by mid-2022.

A third, build-to-suit structure on the property would offer up to 803,000 square feet across 57 acres. A new road connecting the development directly to WFW Marks Drive is also planned.

Each building, including the Atkins structure, has received a 10-year tax abatements from Hancock County, Swain said. 

Hancock County Economic Development Council did not return a message requesting comment about whether Atkins requested additional incentives. And Atkins did not respond to a request for comment about its project.