Sherwin-Williams’ 685,000-square-foot distribution center in Winter Haven has sold for $133 million, following a major expansion that added buildings and office space earlier this year. The nearly 40-acre property, at 400 Winter Haven Boulevard, was built in 1992 and handles the storage and distribution of paint and related products.
The buyer, an East Coast family-owned company with investments in real estate and agriculture, acquired the facility from a private New Jersey-based owner through a deal arranged by SRS Real Estate Partners. Neither party was identified in the firm’s Oct. 22 announcement. Sherwin-Williams occupies the property under a recently extended, corporate-guaranteed triple-net lease, which generally makes the tenant responsible for property taxes, insurance and maintenance.
The acquisition was part of the buyer’s broader 1031 exchange strategy, which allows investors to defer certain capital gains taxes by reinvesting proceeds from qualifying property sales. SRS said the transaction took more than two years to arrange, with the financing structured around the buyer’s exchange requirements.
John Redfield, a senior vice president and principal at SRS Capital Markets who represented the seller, worked with the seller’s advisor and investment manager PGIM on credit tenant lease financing designed to accommodate the acquisition. The arrangement involved placing debt, assuming an existing loan, executing a zero-cash-flow paydown and securing a secondary loan.
The property went under contract before Sherwin-Williams received its certificate of occupancy for the expanded facility, leaving the parties to complete the financing as Treasury rates climbed ahead of closing. SRS said the structure helped maximize the seller’s proceeds while meeting the buyer’s exchange requirements.
Matthew Mousavi and Patrick Luther, senior managing principals at SRS Capital Markets, represented the buyer and helped place a significant portion of the proceeds from its 1031 exchange.
The distribution center sits near major highways with access to Interstate 4, connecting Sherwin-Williams’ Winter Haven operation to markets throughout Florida. The expansion added operating capacity to the facility ahead of the sale.
Dallas-based SRS Real Estate Partners has completed more than $2.5 billion in transactions across more than 500 deals nationwide this year through its capital markets division. The firm currently has more than 900 properties on the market with a combined value exceeding $4.3 billion.