Prologis Inc. is continuing to bet on Orange County.
The San Francisco-based industrial giant, whose local commercial portfolio totals about 6.6 million square feet of space, recently closed on a $44 million, off-market acquisition of a 10-building business park in Westminster.
It’s the second-largest industrial acquisition in OC so far this year, according to data from real estate market CoStar Group Inc.
The largest of the year: a $124 million buy of a trio of buildings at Western Realco’s Beckman Business Center in Fullerton. The buyer in that transaction also was Prologis, the country’s largest industrial property owner, with a market value topping $50 billion as of last week.
The buildings at the Westminster property—just north of the San Diego (405) Freeway, near the intersection of Bolsa Avenue and Chestnut Street—run a bit smaller in size than much of what’s in the company’s portfolio.
The industrial park runs 264,847 square feet; it sold for $166.13 per square foot.
JLL’s Louis Tomaselli, Steve Wagner, and Zach Niles represented Prologis. Curt Stalder of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services represented the seller, CMSS Ventures LP.
Redevelopment Plans
OC, despite lacking a big number of larger-sized distribution centers that Prologis is best known for, remain a core market, officials said.
“Typically, we pursue properties that are in close proximity to highly dense populations, and this particular acquisition was a rare opportunity to acquire a contiguous 12-acre site along a highly trafficked freeway close to the urban core of Orange County,” said Darren Kenney, vice president and investment officer at Prologis.
Prologis (NYSE: PLD) intends to retain the existing 16 tenants at the facility, which is now fully-leased, but is considering long-term redevelopment options.
“We will implement upgrades in the near term, and we are also considering redeveloping it into a Class A distribution center as a long-term option,” Kenney said.
Such a redevelopment appears likely, according to JLL. The site has the potential to “be the first L.A./Orange County border location to meet the growing retail and e-commerce demands of Orange County, especially the affluent coastal communities,” Tomaselli said.
Prologis owns about 50 industrial buildings in Orange County. The company said it has taken over leasing activity for the just-acquired Westminster properties.
