Aerospace Engineering Firm Triples Industrial Space in L.A.’s South Bay

Vacancy for industrial space in Los Angeles County’s South Bay may be rising lately, but business for aerospace manufacturing — once a defining industry in Southern California — is apparently sonic booming, as one of the market’s largest firms has inked a new lease, tripling its square footage in the region.

Trio Manufacturing, which specializes in aircraft engineering and manufacturing for both commercial and military endeavors, is relocating from its 40,076-square-foot facility in El Segundo to The Cypress Land Company’s 123,189-square-foot building at 17006 South Figueroa Street, along the Harbor Gateway near Gardena and Carson. The 126-month lease deal is valued at nearly $20 million. 

The Klabin Company represented both parties in the deal. The brokerage’s Courtney Bell represented Cypress Land Company, while Matt Stringfellow, Max Farkas and Zach Middleton represented Trio, which expects to move into the new space in June or July, according to a Klabin Company spokesperson.

“This transaction is a significant addition to the L.A.-South Bay Aerospace industrial market user base for a number of reasons,” Bell said in a statement. “In a market where 100,000-square-foot-plus distribution buildings are a dime a dozen, this facility is a throwback to the days when the South Bay was synonymous with high-skilled manufacturing.”

The 5-acre property is just east of Interstate 110 and north of State Route 91, near the Harbor Gateway Transit Center. The property, which also features 3,200 square feet of office space, recently completed a $500,000 “top to bottom” renovation, including new landscaping, exterior paint, wrought-iron fencing and gates, and new windows.

The South Bay’s industrial market has seen some turbulence since the beginning of 2023, with vacancy shooting to nearly 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 after years of mostly humming well below 1 percent, according to a recent market report by CBRE (CBRE). But the market there is still tight, and demand for space remains relatively elevated.

Around this time last year, Illinois-based investment firm CedarPoint Properties paid nearly $200 million for a nearby four-building portfolio in Compton. Meanwhile, safety equipment provider Total Safety U.S. signed a roughly 52,000-square-foot industrial lease in the South Bay neighborhood of Harbor City in late 2024, effectively doubling its square footage from its previous home in nearby Rancho Dominguez. Bell and Stringfellow were also present in that deal, representing landlord Alere Property Group.

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.