Los Angeles-based Rexford Industrial Realty bought a fully leased, three-property industrial site in Brea from Western Realco.
The Newport Beach real estate investor sold the 120,250-square-foot collection of buildings on Berry Way to Rexford, a REIT valued at about $5.2 billion (NYSE: REXR). They traded hands for $27.6 million, or nearly $230 per square foot.
Western Realco, one of OC’s most active industrial investors and developers the past decade, paid $19 million for the Brea site in 2016 as part of a five-building portfolio; the company previously sold the other Berry Street assets last year.
It’s largely been a seller in OC this year, shedding notable assets such as its just-built Beckman Business Center in Fullerton in a series of deals topping $180 million on a combined basis.
The Berry Way property is on nearly 12 acres, just north of Lambert Road and a mile west of the Orange (57) Freeway.
“We are very pleased with the execution of this portfolio sale,” said Gary Edwards, principal for Western Realco, which is seeking other deals in the tight OC market.
$800M YTD
Rexford said the off-market buy presents “future potential to drive cash flow growth through a range of re-leasing or repositioning strategies,” according to its two chief executives, Howard Schwimmer and Michael Frankel.
The deal marks $800 million in year-to-date investments for Rexford, which focuses on SoCal infill markets. The company owns and manages north of 200 properties, including 1.1 million square feet of industrial space in North OC as of earlier this year, according to regulatory filings.
This month’s deal is its first in Brea.
“We are pleased with the quality of our investments, which, together with our go-forward internal and external growth opportunities, position the company well into future periods,” the co-CEOs said in a statement.
Other notable execs at the REIT include Chairman Richard Ziman, who established and endowed the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate.
