coldport-new-orleans-llc-spv-investment-memorandum

Market Dynamics: The Protein Export Hub

New Orleans operates as the primary spigot for American protein exports to the global market.

The Poultry Capital

The Gulf Coast, fed by the Mississippi River, is the primary export vector for U.S. poultry (which constitutes billions of pounds of exports annually). Before poultry can be loaded into refrigerated vessels or containers, it must be rapidly frozen to core temperatures of 0°F or lower.

The Blast-Freezing Bottleneck

The demand for blast freezing in the New Orleans logistics radius currently outstrips supply by a massive margin.

• Legacy Infrastructure: Existing facilities are decades old, utilizing inefficient ammonia systems that take up to 72 hours to blast freeze a pallet of poultry.
• Drayage Inefficiencies: Due to the lack of on-port capacity, producers are forced to truck products hundreds of miles inland just to find an available blast freezer, only to truck the frozen product back to Port NOLA for export.

Coldport New Orleans LLC eliminates this bottleneck entirely. Situated immediately adjacent to the port terminals, our facility will intercept raw protein, blast freeze it within 24 hours using advanced high-velocity thermodynamics, and cross-dock it directly onto departing vessels.

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Asset & Infrastructure Specifications

The Coldport New Orleans facility is purpose-built for extreme temperature differentials, specializing in rapid-cycle blast freezing.

Metric	Specification
Total Square Footage	160,000 SF
Clear Height	45'
Pallet Positions	22,000
Blast Cells	12 high-velocity, rapid-cycle blast freezing cells
Refrigeration System	Advanced Transcritical CO2
Dock Doors	30 (fully sealed, temperature-controlled docks)

ESG & Efficiency Engineering

Blast freezing is the most energy-intensive process in the cold chain. Coldport attacks this inefficiency through engineering:

• Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs): All compressor motors utilize VFDs to dynamically scale power draw based on the exact thermal load of the blast cells, reducing energy waste by 30%.
• Thermal Heat Recovery: The immense heat extracted from the poultry during the freezing process is captured and repurposed to heat sub-floor glycol warming loops (preventing permafrost damage to the foundation) and to warm the administrative offices.

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Financial Projections & Capital Stack

The New Orleans SPV offers outsized returns due to the premium rates commanded by blast-freezing services, which operate as a high-margin value-add service atop standard storage rents.

Projected Returns (Base Case)

Projections are based on a 5-year hold period with a terminal exit to an institutional core-plus fund or REIT.

• Target IRR (Net): 19.5% - 22.0%
• Equity Multiple: 2.5x - 2.9x
• Average Cash-on-Cash: 10.5% (Stabilized Year 2)
• Breakeven Occupancy: 35%

Capital Structure

• Total Project Cost: $52,000,000
• Senior Debt: 60% ($31,200,000) at 5.50% fixed.
• Sponsor Equity: 5% ($2,600,000)
• LP Equity (The SPV): 35% ($18,200,000)

[!TIP] Why the higher IRR? Blast freezing isn't just real estate; it's a critical operational service. By charging producers a "per-pound" blast-freezing fee on top of standard pallet-position rent, Coldport effectively captures operating company margins within a real estate holding vehicle.

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Investment Timeline

Phase	Target Date	Milestone
Capital Call	Q2 2027	Initial SPV funding and debt closing.
Groundbreaking	Q3 2027	Site prep and foundation pouring.
Dry-In	Q1 2028	Roof and thermal envelope sealed.
Commissioning	Q3 2028	Refrigeration activation, blast cell calibration, and tenant move-in.
Stabilization	Q1 2029	90%+ occupancy achieved. First cash distributions to LPs.

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