Exclusive: Ares Sells LA-Area Warehouse

Ares Management has sold 5102 Industry Ave., a 173,100-square-foot industrial facility in Pico Rivera, Calif., for $63.8 million, according to Yardi Matrix information. Robertson Properties Group acquired the metro Los Angeles asset for about $368.4 per square foot.

The property previously traded in October 2021, the same data provider shows. Ares acquired it in a $63.1 million sale-leaseback deal from Howard’s, which still occupies the space.

The facility is near Highway 19 and is part of Pacific Gateway Business Park, a 27-acre campus that totals 550,000 square feet across two properties. The building has easy access to interstates 5 and 605, while downtown Los Angeles is 14 miles away. Los Angeles International Airport is within 26 miles.

Completed in 2002, the distribution center features 40-foot maximum clear heights, as well as one drive-in door and 27 dock-high loading doors with levelers and bumpers. The property also has 115 parking spaces.

Ares’ recent industrial deals

Ares Management’s portfolio comprised $596 billion of assets under management globally, according to its website. The investment manager platform was founded in 1997 and since then developed multiple subsidiaries.

Last month, one of them—Ares Alternative Credit Funds—formed a joint venture with Makarora Management to acquire Plymouth Industrial REIT in an all-cash deal valued at $2.1 billion. The partnership would assume the outstanding debt and is set to close early next year.

In March, Ares Management sold a 2.5 million-square-foot, four-building portfolio in Kansas City, Mo. A joint venture between Arch Street Capital Advisors and Artemis Real Estate Partners acquired the facilities completed between 2014 and 2017.

Los Angeles industrial sales hold steady

Los Angeles’ industrial real estate investment volume clocked in at $1.9 billion year-to-date through September, ranking in the top 10 nationally, according to a Yardi Matrix industrial report. Facilities in the metro traded for $282 per square foot on average, almost double the $142 per square foot national figure.

In September, MetLife Investment Management sold a three-property portfolio in Southern California totaling about 600,000 square feet. Three separate buyers acquired the assets for a combined $165.5 million.

Another notable deal involved Garfield Business Center, a five-building, 544,705-square-foot campus in Commerce, Calif. Palisade Group and Benefit Street Partners purchased it for $97 million.