On Tap: Anheuser-Busch Site Sells for $85M in Los Angeles
Cold storage warehouse trades for $535 per square foot
By Greg Cornfield July 12, 2022 2:20 pm
reprintsThirsty, anyone?
A cold-storage warehouse leased to Anheuser-Busch in the southern part of Los Angeles County has traded for $85 million, Commercial Observer can first report. The 158,800-square-foot property last sold six months ago for $35 million.
The latest swap is surely one of the priciest industrial deals in Southern California this year, at an astounding $535 per square foot. For reference, this comes shortly after news broke of investment firm KKR’s $481-per-square-foot warehouse deal in the Inland Empire.
Thor Equities Group and a Danish pension fund, PFA, acquired the property from Staley Point Capital and Bain Capital Real Estate, which had secured a $37.9 million loan from Mesa West Capital for the January acquisition.
The storage space for the world’s largest brewing company is at 12065 Pike Street in Santa Fe Springs. The asset includes two buildings on 8.7 acres, and it features 16 exterior docks and excess land for fleet and trailer parking.
“This acquisition offers a rare opportunity to invest in one of the most desirable asset classes and industrial markets in Southern California,” Thor Equities Group Chairman Joseph Sitt said. “Given the proximity to the largest port in the U.S. and accessibility to a large population, the location is ideal for cold storage, and we expect the demand for this specialized asset type to grow.”
The property is in the Mid-Counties submarket, which is the name for the communities along L.A.’s border with Orange County, near the 5 and 605 freeways. It’s about 17 miles from Downtown Los Angeles and 24 miles from the Port of Los Angeles.
The sellers did not immediately return requests for comment.
Thor Equities and PFA have been partners since 2016 in acquisitions and development, and formed the Thor PFA USA Industrial Fund and Thor PFA European Mixed-Use Fund. Thor has built a global industrial portfolio with new acquisitions in key markets in Georgia, Dallas, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Chicago in the last year. The company is also active in Europe, with an industrial portfolio in Spain, France and the Netherlands.
Last week, Thor acquired an industrial portfolio in Savannah, Ga., for $49 million, the third investment in Georgia in the last nine months. And Thor first entered L.A.’s warehouse scene when it acquired a 196,300-square-foot warehouse in the South Bay last year. Thor’s assets span different classes, including life sciences and data centers.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.