Shopoff Realty Buys Warehouse-to-Resi Site in Southern California for $60M

A development firm has acquired the Amway industrial property in Southern California’s Orange County with plans to redevelop the site into for-sale townhomes.

Shopoff Realty Investments, in partnership with Lennar Homes, paid $60 million for almost 14 acres in Buena Park. The site includes two industrial buildings spanning 370,031 square feet. The seller, Amway Corporation, uses the site as a distribution center and as its headquarters, as well as a training facility for its Nutrilite brand. Amway will sign a two-year leaseback agreement, providing cash flow while the new owners pursue entitlements for residential redevelopment.

The site is at 5600 Beach Boulevard, adjacent to the Metrolink line and less than a mile from both Interstate 5 and State Route 91. Shopoff expects the City of Buena Park will streamline the approval process for the residential conversion.

“Buena Park offers a tremendous opportunity for strategic redevelopment,” Shopoff Realty Investments President and CEO William Shopoff said in a statement. “This acquisition allows us to capitalize on a prime Orange County location with significant accessibility and strong demand for new housing options.”

The Irvine-based company has been modestly active around Southern California. Last month, Shopoff secured a $60.9 million loan for a 29-acre project in Huntington Beach, where Shopoff plans to build a mixed-use district with about 200 attached and detached single-family homes, a 50-unit affordable housing community, and a 215-room hotel with 19,000 square feet of retail space. Last year, the firm bought a 55-acre parcel in Desert Hot Springs, where it plans to build a 1.1 million-square-foot industrial complex. 

Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.