Custom truck maker buys Pompano warehouse to build monster rides
John Ghattas, who owns two companies that customize off-road vehicles, paid $11M for the industrial facility
John Ghattas now has a bigger garage to roll out his assembly line of customized jeeps and trucks.
Ghattas, owner of two Fort Lauderdale-based companies that specialize in off-road automobile custom jobs, paid $10.7 million for a recently completed warehouse at 2151 Hammondville Road in Pompano Beach, records show.
BankUnited provided the buyer with an $8.6 million mortgage.
The deal breaks down to $283 a square foot for the 41,520-square-foot facility completed last year, records show.
Tom Viscount with Avison Young represented Ghattas, and CBRE’s Tom O’Loughlin and Larry Genet represented the seller, an entity managed by Bryan Hussey, a principal with BTH Development Partner. The Fort Lauderdale-based real estate firm focuses on mid-size commercial and multi-family projects, according to BTH’s website.
In 2020, BTH paid $1.4 million for the land, records show.
Ghattas’ companies, Apocalypse Manufacturing and SoFlo Customs, transform ordinary Jeep Wranglers, Ford Broncos, Hummers and other truck models into behemoth vehicles with customized body kits. The Apocalypse 6×6 Hellfire, a jeep with three axles and six tires, was featured on Jay Leno’s Garage in 2021. Since then, Apocalypse has produced six-tire versions of a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon and a Ford Bronco.
Ghattas’ companies operate two dealerships in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, according to SoFlo Customs’ website. The six-wheeled monster rides start at $150,000 each.
The Pompano Beach warehouse will be Ghattas’ new manufacturing facility, which is more than double the size of the 18,000-square-foot warehouse in Fort Lauderdale he is currently leasing, a press release states.
Tenant demand slightly softened in South Florida’s industrial market in the fourth quarter of last year, but developers are showing no signs of slowing down on building new projects, according to a Newmark report.
Last month, Dallas-based Xebec landed a $44 million construction loan for an industrial development on 15.7 acres near Miami Gardens. Indianapolis-based Ambrose Property Group also nabbed a $27 million construction loan for a spec warehouse in Jupiter. The firm and its partner, Fort Lauderdale-based Helms Development, expect to break ground on the project this month.