RACER Trust, RAV Properties Complete Sale of Salina Industrial Powerpark; Multi-Tenant Use to Continue

RACER Trust today announced it has completed the sale of the Salina Industrial Powerpark in Salina, N.Y., to RAV Properties, which intends to continue its use as a multi-tenant industrial park.

The property features an 805,860-square-foot main building and a separate, 14-acre shovel-ready site for additional industrial development. It formerly was owned by the General Motors Corp., which operated it as a manufacturing facility until 1993. The total land area of the property is just under 78.5 acres.

Approximately 70% of the available tenant space is leased in the main building, creating opportunities for additional investment and job growth. The building’s 13 tenants employ about 425 people.

“An important part of RACER Trust’s mission is to find buyers who are capable of maximizing the property’s reuse potential. RAV Properties is that kind of buyer,” said Elliott P. Laws, of EPLET, LLC, administrative trustee of RACER Trust. “The fact that RAV Properties is locally based and understands the Central New York market so well gives us confidence that the property is in good hands and will continue to be a source of jobs and opportunity for the community.”

RAV Properties, an experienced operator of multi-tenant industrial properties, is based in nearby Jamesville, N.Y.

RACER Trust took title to the Salina property in 2011, following the General Motors Corp. bankruptcy, and continued to operate it as a multi-tenant industrial park. The property was a revenue-generator for RACER, but RACER’s purpose is to sell properties for reuse, not to hold them.

“Salina Industrial Powerpark is a great property and our second investment in this area of Syracuse,” said Robert Lieberman, managing member of RAV Properties. “I am confident in our vision for the property. We are looking forward to getting started on our planned strategic investments that benefit current tenants and encourage future growth.”

RAV Properties in 2010 purchased and improved a two-building industrial complex, once known as the Flickinger’s Warehouse. Near Carrier Circle, it has been home to various businesses since 1998. Totaling 290,000 square feet in DeWitt, it is not far from the Salina Industrial Powerpark.

“RAV Properties’ investment is further affirmation of Salina and Central New York as a great place to live and work. I’m very pleased that RACER Trust’s marketing efforts produced an experienced local buyer who plans to bring even more investment and jobs to our community,” Salina Supervisor Colleen A. Gunnip said. “RACER Trust promised to act in the best interests of the community, and this sale is indicative of that commitment.”

The sale terminates RACER Trust’s ownership of the property.

About RACER Trust: RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy. When it was formed in 2011, RACER was one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States and was the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history. Its initial property holdings were at 89 locations in 14 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast. The Trust was created by a settlement agreement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court between the U.S. Government, the 14 states where the former GM properties are located, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which owns land adjoining one of the properties in Upstate New York.

About RAV Properties: A local investor since 2008, RAV Properties is an owner operator with a long-term holding horizon. From the outset, they believe in acting responsibly, sporting pride of ownership and providing businesses “a place where local commerce prospers.”