Rexford Industrial Realty has whipped up another warehouse lease agreement in Southern California.
Belgium-based Puratos Corporation, which distributes materials and products to the “bakery, patisserie and chocolate sectors,” signed to occupy 86,879 square feet in a newly completed Class A industrial facility in Gardena, Calif., in Los Angeles County’s South Bay.
NAI Capital Commercial announced the lease and helped broker the agreement.
The warehouse development was completed earlier this year at 15601 South Avalon Boulevard. It’s roughly 12 miles from Los Angeles International Airport and 20 miles from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and features electric vehicle charging.
Los Angeles posted the second-highest yearly industrial rent increase in the nation at 13.1 percent after the first quarter this year, according to Commercial Edge. L.A. is the third-most-expensive market for tenants in the U.S. at an average asking rent of $11.80 per square foot (after Orange County and the Bay Area), and it has one of the lowest vacancy rates.
Meanwhile, L.A.-based Rexford is dominating the industrial sector in Southern California, where its portfolio is 98 percent occupied. The firm announced its quarterly net operating income shot up 33 percent to $142.3 million to start the year.
NAI Capital’s Edward Michino represented the tenant on the lease.
“The competition for state-of-the-art warehouse space remains intense, with limited availability,” Michino said. “This exceptional facility, located in a prime South Bay transportation hub, provides Puratos Corporation with a strategic location for its expanding business operations.”
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.