Blue Owl Lands Biggest Inland Empire Deal in 2 Years with Big Lots Facility
Big Lots used $101 million to lease the facility back for 20 years
By Greg Cornfield October 20, 2023 6:10 pm
reprints
Blue Owl Capital is flying high after closing what’s being called the largest single-property industrial acquisition in the top warehousing market in the U.S. in more than two years.
The New York City-based firm put down $219.1 million for a Big Lots distribution center named Watson Logistics Center in Southern California’s Inland Empire as part of a larger portfolio sale-leaseback by the discount retail chain, according to data provided by Newmark (NMRK). The larger $309.5 million deal included 25 Big Lots locations across the country.
Big Lots used $101 million of the proceeds to lease back the distribution center for 20 years. The 1.34 million-square-foot facility is at 18880 Navajo Road in Apple Valley, Calif., across the street from a large Wal-Mart distribution facility, and less than two miles north of the Apple Valley Airport.
Property records show JPMorgan provided $109 million tied to the property in September. Additionally, records show the site last sold for $153.4 million in March.
Newmark’s Jordan Roeschlaub, Dustin Stolly and Chris Kramer negotiated the debt, sources said.
The deal bolsters Inland Empire’s standing with the largest industrial sales volume in the nation, despite a slowdown in activity this year. The region’s $3.37 billion in sales volume accounted for nearly 10 percent of the nation’s total volume through the first nine months of the year, according to CommercialEdge’s most recent market report.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
