John McMillan

“We’re going to have one of our team’s best years ever,” he said. “We’ve never worked harder.”

McMillan, who’s been an industrial broker mostly focused on the Los Angeles market for 31 years, and has headed up a five-person Newmark team since 2016, has closed 56 transactions so far this year. These include repping the L.A. Regional Food Bank in its $52.1 million purchase of 2300 Pellissier Place; and repping Prologis in US Elogistic Services Corp.’s 232,299-square-foot lease at the Prologis Vernon Business Center, the largest industrial lease in central L.A. County so far this year.

But, even as the pandemic provided a boom in demand for the industrial market, keeping up with it has been a challenge for McMillan, as he and his staff had to navigate changing restrictions while working from home.

“It’s a lot harder trying to pull a complicated transaction together in today’s environment,” he said. “There’s a lot of hurdles out there for getting transactions done, but we’ve been very nimble and able to adapt.”

Demand has been especially strong since after Labor Day, particularly for empty buildings, as tenants want to get into the property as soon as possible before the holiday season, McMillan said.

McMillan expects the demand to continue next year and is considering boosting his team’s headcount to help keep up with the work. The veteran broker got into the industrial market during a five-year recession, so he knows to strike while the iron is hot during a bull market.

“We’re going to ride this wave as long as we can,” McMillan said. “At some point, the music is going to stop. While it’s here and it’s hot, we’re just going to work as hard as we can.”—N.R.