Stockbridge Buys SoCal Industrial Portfolio in $142M Deal
The two properties totaling 540,500 square feet are 100% leased, including to apparel brand Converse
By Nick Trombola May 15, 2024 1:47 pm
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Industrial sales in Southern California’s Inland Empire have come down after several years of rocket-like activity, yet nine-figure deals are still crossing the finish line.
San Francisco-based investment management firm Stockbridge has gotten its hands on a 540,478-square-foot industrial portfolio in Ontario, Calif. The firm paid $142.3 million to Principal Asset Management for two free-standing buildings 3351 East Philadelphia Street and 4450 East Lowell Street, about 42 miles due east of Downtown Los Angeles.
The properties are 100 percent leased by equipment provider Creworks and Converse, the apparel company known for Chuck Taylor sneakers.
Jeff Chiate, Jeffrey Cole, Rick Ellison and Matt Leupold of Cushman & Wakefield (CWK) announced the deal and represented Principal Asset Management in the sale. Cushman’s Phil Lombardo, Chuck Belden and Andrew Starnes also advised the firm in the deal.
“Both properties have maintained a historical occupancy of 100 percent for nearly a decade, speaking to the tenant demand for industrial buildings of this quality and location,” Chiate said in a statement. “Additionally, with current rents below market rate, the buyer has a compelling mark-to-market opportunity along with existing durable cash flow, providing a variety of value-add strategies.”
The Inland Empire may be the nation’s leading industrial real estate market, with more than 717 million square feet in circulation, but inflation and high interest rates have taken a toll on the burgeoning market. Just $382 million in Inland Empire investment sales closed in the first quarter of this year, according to data firm CommercialEdge. More than 300 properties traded hands in the region in 2023, but total dollar volume on those sales was 44 percent lower than it was the previous year, with square footage 32 percent lower, according to data from NAI Capital earlier this year.
The region also saw a vacancy rate climb to 6.3 percent in the first quarter of 2024, according to a first quarter market report from C&W. That’s well above the five-year pre-pandemic average of 4.1 percent, and vacancy is expected to climb even higher throughout 2024 due to a surge of available space entering the market and slower demand.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
