CoStar Exclusive: Partnership Ups Ante along US-Mexico border in bet on Major Trade Hub

By Candace Carlisle, CoStar News, as published on March 19, 2026

A partnership between AKRE Partners and Sunwest Real Estate Group has acquired a 51,252-square-foot small-bay industrial warehouse in Laredo—their fourth industrial purchase in the market within the past year. The property is located near the World Trade Bridge, a major U.S.-Mexico trade crossing.

“We believe in the long-term rental growth in Laredo,” Marc Grossfeld, founder and managing principal of Sunwest Real Estate, told CoStar News in an exclusive interview, who adding “We think there’s an opportunity to turn one-year leases into five-year leases. Also, when you’re not locked into a long-term lease and there’s rental growth occurring in the market, that also creates an opportunity to try to bring in a new user or to renegotiate a lease rate.”

The acquisition comes ahead of a scheduled review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, creating uncertainty that the firms see as an opportunity. Short-term tenant hesitancy is allowing the partnership to pursue strategies like converting shorter leases into longer ones and capturing rising rental rates.

The firms are bullish on Laredo due to strong trade fundamentals—Mexico is the U.S.’s largest trading partner, and a significant portion of cross-border goods flows through Laredo—combined with limited industrial supply and very low vacancy of under 3%.

“We believe the fundamentals are there for higher rental growth than what you might find in Dallas or another major metropolitan market,” Grossfeld added.

Overall, the partnership is continuing to expand its Laredo portfolio, betting on long-term rental growth and sustained demand driven by cross-border trade. The deal is the partnership’s fourth industrial acquisition in Laredo over the past nine months which also includes 813 Nafta, 13609 Archer and 310 Union Pacific.

Source: CoStar News