Harbor Associates JV Buys LA Industrial Portfolio for $55M

CBRE brokered the deal on behalf of a private seller.

The portfolio is composed of four adjacent buildings. <em>Image courtesy of Harbor Associates</em>

The portfolio comprises four adjacent buildings. Image courtesy of Harbor Associates

Harbor Associates, in a joint venture with Evergen Equity, has purchased a 126,015-square-foot, four-building industrial portfolio in Gardena, Calif., for $55 million. An individual private investor sold the properties.

CBRE Senior Vice President Eric Cox, along with Vice Chairmen Barbara Perrier and Darla Longo, represented the seller.

The transaction marks Harbor Associates’ third industrial investment of this year, bringing the company’s Southern California footprint to 640,000 square feet.

The adjacent buildings are at 690-760 W. 190th St., with sizes ranging from 17,000 to 45,000 square feet. The new owner is considering converting the 8-acre property for other uses, such as Class A industrial outdoor storage for trailers and trucking.

The portfolio’s location allows for quick access to major Southern California thoroughfares, such as interstates 405 and 110. It is 13 miles from Los Angeles International Airport, 14 miles from Port of Long Beach and within 16 miles of downtown Los Angeles. According to Harbor Associates, the 34 million-square-foot Gardena/Harbor submarket has a vacancy rate of under 1 percent.

Los Angeles’ sales volume outpaced most markets

Year-to-date through October, Los Angeles recorded nearly $3.6 billion in industrial sales, exceeded only by the adjacent Inland Empire market—which had $3.7 billion—a recent CommercialEdge report shows. Demand contributed to the average price per square foot in the supply-constrained market to rise to $314 in October, which was more than double the national rate of $136.

Recent large Los Angeles deals included Dedeaux Properties’ $190 million purchase of an 882,000-square-foot distribution center in Commerce, Calif. Ares Management sold the asset in what was one of the largest industrial transactions in the county this year.

In July, Rexford Industrial paid $210 million for a 595,304-square-foot industrial asset in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. The property previously changed hands in 2015 for $62.3 million.