William “Bill” Halford has made his first deal at Bixby Land Co.
The privately held real estate investment trust, which recently moved from Long Beach to Newport Beach, just finalized an $18 million industrial park buy in Ontario.
Bixby acquired the Archibald Business Center, an 18-acre complex, from South Korean consumer electronics maker LG Electronics Inc. The industrial complex is about five miles from Ontario International Airport.
It’s the company’s first deal since Halford took over Bixby’s reins in April. Halford, who’s Bixby’s chief executive, previously headed The Irvine Company’s office division.
More acquisitions are on the way. Bixby has made offers for three more properties, all in the Inland Empire, Halford said.
“We are actively pursuing new deals,” he said.
The Archibald property includes a 231,444-square-foot warehouse and distribution building that Bixby is paying $700,000 to refurbish. LG used the warehouse and is leaving the property.
Bixby’s acquisition also includes 6.5 acres of undeveloped land. Construction on a 140,000-square-foot building is expected to start in about four months.
Bixby plans to lease the new building and LG’s former warehouse. The company would like to find one tenant for each building.
The real estate developer paid cash to make the acquisition. Bixby typically shuns debt in favor of using its own funds to pay for projects but Halford says debt is an option in the future.
CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.’s Darla Longo, David Consani and Jim Koenig represented Bixby and LG in the deal.
Halford expects the Ontario market to see rent growth as demand for space continues to rise.
“The bigger the building, the more demand there is from tenants,” he said.
Moving from the Irvine Co. to Bixby marks a change in focus from office to industrial for Halford.
At the Irvine Co., where he had worked since 1994, Halford managed the leasing and growth of a sprawling office portfolio. He was named the Irvine Co.’s office president in 2001.
The Irvine Co.’s office division included close to 400 buildings and 30 million square feet when Halford left early this year.
At Bixby, he takes over a portfolio of 50 industrial properties in Southern California, totaling about 3 million square feet.
Despite his office background, and the sizzling Orange County office market, Halford’s plan for Bixby is to grow by buying or building industrial space. Bixby will focus on projects within an hour’s plane ride from OC.
Halford is familiar with Bixby and its history. He’s a fifth-generation Bixby and has been serving on the company’s board for 10 years.
The transition has been smooth so far, he said. Contacts he made while at the Irvine Co. have helped Bixby, which has had few projects in development during the past decade, get back into the acquisition market, Halford said.
To boost acquisitions, Bixby recently hired Mike Severson as vice president of acquisitions and development.
Prior to joining Bixby, Severson was a director and portfolio manager at The RREEF Funds in Irvine. At RREEF, Severson advised the California Public Employees’ Retirement System on its commercial real estate investments.
He helped CalPERS develop, buy and sell more than $2 billion worth of industrial, office and research and development space.
