by Thomas Breen The New Haven independent
An aerial photo of the John Murphy Drive buildings.
A Brooklyn-based investor has purchased the Industrial Flow Solutions (IFS) buildings on John Murphy Drive for $7.8 million — and plans to keep the industrial-pump manufacturer in place, and potentially expand.
That sale was recorded on the city’s land records database on March 25.
A warranty deed documenting the sale shows that 90-104 JMD Owner, Limited Partnership paid $7.8 million to 90/104 John Murphy Drive LLC to acquire the two industrial buildings at 90 and 104 John Murphy Dr.
Those properties last sold for a combined $7.4 million in 2020, and the city last appraised them for tax purposes as worth $4,835,700.
The seller of the properties is a holding company controlled by Salvatore Campofranco of the New Canaan-based Luzern Associates. The buyer of the properties is a holding company controlled by Brian Ker of the New York City-based Snowball Developments.
The occupant of these Mill River-adjacent buildings is IFS, a subsidiary of a Chicago-based business that designs, test, develops, and assembles industrial-use pumps. IFS has been based out of those Fair Haven factory buildings — formerly home to the manufacturing company Radiall — since 2020.
In previous interviews, an IFS representative has described the pumps built by the company as being used for such services as disposing of chicken waste on poultry farms, helping utility companies keep transformer bolts dry, and pumping out hot, corrosive waste waters and liquids for everything from pharmaceutical companies to microbreweries. IFS did not respond to requests for comment by the publication time of this article.
In a recent phone interview, Ker — the new owner of these properties — said that IFS has a long-term lease for the John Murphy Drive buildings, and will be staying put for the foreseeable future.
Ker, a Vancouver native who previously worked for the real estate transaction services team for New York City’s economic development corporation, said he founded Snowball Developments four-and-a-half years ago. The company has acquired a total of 18 properties between New Jersey and Connecticut in that time — with the John Murphy Drives properties their first purchases in New Haven.
Ker said that Snowball also acquired a “multi-tenant industrial property” on Marshal Phelps Road in Windsor from Luzern as part of the deal that saw the John Murphy Drive properties change ownership. A city land records filing from March 25 shows that Ker’s companies 770 MP Owner LP and 90‑104 JMD Owner LP pulled a $9.55 million mortgage loan from Starwood Mortgage Capital LLC for their newly acquired New Haven and Windsor properties.
Ker said his investment company is interested in “acquiring high-quality industrial properties throughout the greater tri-state region. … Our mission is to acquire existing income-producing assets that fit well in their industrial parks.” Then, Snowball seeks out ways to “add additional value to the assets during our ownership period.”
Ker said that the John Murphy Drive buildings were appealing to Snowball for several reasons: they sit “on a waterfront location with abundant land,” are well-maintained, and contain “a flex manufacturing facility” as opposed to a distribution facility. Plus, IFS already occupies the buildings and is a stable, long-term tenant. “It’s a great company,” Ker said about IFS, that has found “corporate and municipal clients” for the pumps they make.
Asked how his company might improve the existing buildings, Ker said that Snowball will work with IFS to see if they need “extra power or more height” at their current properties. He said IFS might also want to construct a new building on adjacent vacant land at some point. Though no specific improvements are planned at this time, he said Snowball is ready to invest and help.