Salem book distribution center sells for $11.55M

A 170,000-square-foot distribution facility in Salem that has served as a book distribution hub for about 25 years has sold for $11.55 million.

On Oct. 9, the Capital Markets Group of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced that the 8.65-acre property at 1100 Intervale Drive, fully leased by ReaderLink Distribution Services, has been sold to Thalhimer Realty Partners, a Short Pump-based real estate investment firm with a portfolio of commercial and multifamily assets. The Illinois book distributor bases its Northeast and mid-Atlantic distribution business out of the facility.

“They’ll continue to lease through the end of their lease term,” Matt Raggi, a principal at Thalhimer Realty Partners, said of ReaderLink. “We’ve got a while, seven years or so.”

Distributing to nontrade channel booksellers, ReaderLink lists Target, Kroger and Walmart among its clients.

In February, Publishers Weekly reported that ReaderLink would stop distributing mass market paperbacks at the end of the year. ReaderLink had been expected to acquire Baker & Taylor, a Charlotte-based wholesaler for academic and public libraries, but the deal fell through in September, according to news reports. Baker & Taylor later announced it was shutting down.

EQT Real Estate, a Pennsylvania-based real estate investment management firm, purchased the Salem facility in November 2024 from Raith Capital Partners, a New York-based investment firm, and Equity Industrial Partners, a Massachusetts-based developer and operator of industrial real estate, for $13.75 million, according to property records and a report by Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer.

“This building was part of a 33-building portfolio that they purchased around the country, and so this was just one small building within that portfolio that they kind of peeled off,” Raggi said. “We view it as a good long-term investment.”

ReaderLink and EQT Real Estate did not respond to requests for comment.

Bo McKown, senior vice president of Thalhimer’s Capital Markets Group, represented the purchaser. Davis Stoneburner with Thalhimer’s Industrial Services Group will provide leasing advisory for new ownership.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.