Commercial real estate developer Barber Partners LLC and Bain Capital are partnering on a joint venture focused on cold storage warehousing. The new program, called Chill Storage, is expected to spend $500 million on 15 state-of-the-art cold storage warehouse projects over the next several years.
“Our team has successfully developed ground-up construction of commercial investment properties for a very long time, and we are experts at delivering first-class products to meet /consumer demands,” said Patrick J. Barber, chairman of the board at Barber. “There is no question that there is an enormous need for new, modern cold storage facilities — even before COVID the consumption of prepared and frozen meals was rapidly on the rise.”
David DesPrez, a director at Bain, also told the WSJ that the companies are looking to bring in established supermarket chains and logistics operators as their first tenants. Chill Storage will lease the facilities to tenants unlike its new rivals Lineage Logistics and Americold Realty Trust, each of which operates its own warehouses.
“We are excited to partner with the Barber team to deliver next-generation refrigerated and freezer storage space,” said DesPrez in a press release. “With the growing complexity of the food and beverage supply chain, we believe our highly adaptable, modern warehouse design will allow us to meet the full spectrum of food tenant needs and provide critical infrastructure to the U.S. food distribution system.”
The latest trends for the cold chain
Chill Storage wants to be a part of that movement. DesPrez told The Wall Street Journal that the company will begin developing facilities in the Southeastern U.S., eventually moving to the Northeast and the West Coast as it looks to create a nationwide presence.
