Banyan Imports Signs 203K SF Industrial Lease In SoCal
The industrial vacancy rate in the Inland Empire hit a record low in the first quarter
By Greg Cornfield May 14, 2021 5:45 pm
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Another day in 2021 means another big lease for Southern California’s industrial magnet, the Inland Empire.
E-commerce company Banyan Imports — which handles auto accessories, fitness equipment and furniture — signed a 203,408-square-foot lease at the California Commerce Center. Landlord Principal Real Estate Investors has owned the property in San Bernardino County near Ontario National Airport for more than two decades, property records show.
The property is located at 3351 East Philadelphia Street near a Nordstrom distribution center and among a sea of large industrial buildings in Ontario, Calif., 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It also includes almost 5,000 square feet of office space.
Newmark (NMRK) announced the deal, and the brokerage’s Ron Washle and Mark Kegans represented Principal Real Estate. NAI Capital represented Banyan Imports.
The industrial vacancy rate in the Inland Empire hit a record low in the first quarter, as robust leasing activity from the last nine months of 2020 carried over into 2021, according to Newmark. Indeed, earlier this week, Commercial Observer reported Kenco Logistics Services signed a 397,351-square-foot lease at a distribution center in Riverside County.
Construction activity jumped 36.2 percent in the first quarter compared to year-end 2020, and quarterly net absorption was substantially higher than the 20-year average of 4 million square feet. With the post-pandemic labor market recovery and swift growth of e-commerce sales, the forecast for a big-box logistics corridor like the Inland Empire is highly bullish.
Principal Real Estate Investors is a subsidiary of Principal Financial Group, which has been busy across the asset class board. For example, Principal Life Insurance Company recently provided $42 million for a mixed-use development with affordable housing in L.A.
