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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Charles Iupe (281) 820-0747
April 9, 2004 Ed McKechnie (620) 231-2230
GREENSPORT SHIP/CHANNEL
PARTNERS
ACQUIRE KEY HOUSTON INDUSTRIAL SITE
(HOUSTON) – Charles Iupe, a Houston based Industrial Commercial Real Estate Developer, and Watco Companies, Inc., a Pittsburg, Kansas, based rail transportation company have formed a partnership and have acquired one of the premier industrial locations on the Houston Ship Channel.
Greensport Ship/Channel Partners, L.P. acquired the Greensport Industrial Park and began operations today. The facility is located on the north side of the Houston Ship Channel in the heart of the Houston Industrial Center.
Greensport, formerly owned by AK Steel, closed in the early 1980’s, and began the process of converting portions of the facility into a multimodal industrial park.
The joint venture combines the Industrial Commercial Real Estate expertise of Charles Iupe with the transportation experience of Watco Companies, Inc. to offer industrial customers in the Houston ship channel a host of services including warehousing, lay down storage, leasing of industrial property, access to deep water dock and barge, contract stevedoring, rail and truck transportation.
“This is a strategic opportunity for both of our companies, and will uniquely position us to provide a broad array of services to customers who access the Port of Houston,” Iupe said. “This project is also synergistic to other nearby projects I have worked on such as the Cedar Crossing facility in nearby Baytown (Texas).
“We will be offering customers: a deep-water dock; stevedore services; direct rail access; rail storage in transit; plus many real estate opportunities such as warehousing or a building for a full industrial facility.”
Greensport Ship/Channel Partners, L.P. is managed by Greensport Management, LLC with Iupe as President and Rick Webb, Watco President and CEO, serving as Vice President.
“We are very pleased to complete this transaction and want to express our thanks to the leaders of AK Steel for working so diligently with us to get this done,” Webb said. “In addition to this facility providing synergies for some of Charles Iupe’s existing properties, Greensport will provide an anchor for Watco on the Texas Gulf Coast. We currently provide short line services through our Timber Rock Railroad in east Texas, and we offer many transportation services in the Houston area such as locomotive repair, tank car cleaning, rail car repair, and industrial switching services.”
“By working with other transportation partners, such as the Class I Railroads and the PTRA, we will be able to meet Customers’ needs whether it is large or small, routine or unique,” Webb said.
The park is situated on 640 acres in the heart of the Houston ship channel in Harris County. The facility includes more than 4,000 linear feet of frontage to the Houston ship channel including a 1,080 linear foot, deep water dock capable of serving some of the world’s largest ocean going vessels and a separate barge. Greensport also provides more than 2 million square feet of industrial buildings equipped with industrial strength cranes and served by more than 20 miles of rail infrastructure with direct access to dock and barge transportation. Additionally, the park includes four rail yards capable of storing up to 1,200 railcars. The facility offers easy access to major thoroughfares serving the Houston area via its proximity to Interstate 10.
Anyone wishing additional information about Greensport and the services offered can contact Charles Iupe at (281) 820-0747 or Randy Bennett, Watco at (337) 238-4254, Ext. 14.