Westcore Picks Up SoCal Industrial Portfolio for $69M

San Diego-based Westcore Properties, a private, entrepreneurial commercial real estate investment firm, is purchasing a Southern California industrial portfolio from a real estate investment arm of MetLife for $69.4 million, or roughly $109 per square foot. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but press releases indicate that MetLife was represented in the transaction by Darla Longo and Barbara Emmons with CBRE.

Properties included in this four-city portfolio consist of:

7100, 7050, 7051, 7101 and 7150 Village Drive in Buena Park
A 300,896-square-foot business park consisting of four multi-tenant/single-tenant light industrial buildings and one single-tenant data center building constructed in 1980 and 1981, respectively. The property is 99% leased to 15 tenants including Isuzu Motors and Hochiki America Corp.

300 East Arrow Highway in San Dimas
A 165,070-square-foot single tenant warehouse/distribution building originally constructed in 1972 and expanded in 1989. The property is 100% leased to Western Pacific Storage.

4422 Airport Drive in Ontario
A 88,323-square-foot multi-tenant industrial building constructed in 1978. The property is 100 percent leased to two tenants: NGOC Hoang Gia LLC and Kelleher Corporation.

14301 Gannet Street in La Mirada
A 80,000-square-foot, single-tenant industrial building constructed in 1968. The property is 100 percent leased to Spartech Polycom.

Westcore officials said the deal brought the company’s Southern California commercial portfolio to more than 2.5 million square feet. Hack Adams, senior vice president of acquisitions and leasing at Westcore, added that the acquisition will allow Westcore to capitalize on continued strength in the Class B industrial markets of the Inland Empire, Orange County and other parts of the region. "We are bullish on these submarkets and look forward to implementing our value add initiatives for each property," he said.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Rexford Buys 9 Building Industrial Portfolio for $89M

Rexford Industrial, the Southern California-based industrial real estate firm, announced this week that it had purchased a nine-property industrial portfolio for $88.5 million, or approximately $108 per square foot, from Westcore Properties. The transaction was financed in part by a $48.5 million loan from JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to a Los Angeles Business Journal article. The remainder of the purchase price was financed by an existing line of credit.

"We are pleased to announce the acquisition of this high quality portfolio comprised of nine industrial properties in class "A" locations within our target Southern California infill markets," said Howard Schwimmer and Michael Frankel, Co-Chief Executive Officers of Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. "The properties are strategically located within Los Angeles County, Orange County and San Diego County with convenient access to key regional, interstate, rail, and airport infrastructure to support local and regional distribution. The portfolio is currently 87% occupied. We plan to execute on a range of opportunities to drive occupancy while enhancing functionality, cash flow and value through strategic repositioning."

Eight of the nine portfolio properties, located across Southern California, are 96% leased in aggregate. The remaining property is 40% leased, with an immediate value-add opportunity to reposition the property in order to deliver a high-demand product capable of achieving higher rents. Included in the portfolio are a 60,800-square-foot building at 9855 Distribution Ave.; a 47,666-square-foot building at 9755 Distribution Ave. in the Miramar area; and three buildings totaling 230,250 square feet at 9340, 9404 and 9455 Cabot Drive in the Miramar area.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

OC's Eureka Building Sold, New Leases In

Peter Polydor, cofounder of merchant bank ERGO Capital Partners and leading investor, closed on the purchase of 1621 Alton Parkway in Irvine, California. The property, now dubbed The Eureka Building, sold for an undisclosed amount, but public records show that it was listed for sale at $6.9 million and was previously bought in 2011 by San Diego-based investment firm Westcore Properties for $5.5 million. The former offices of Fox Racing has been transformed from a single-tenant building into a multi-tenant creative space. Polydor said in an Orange County Register article this August that he plans to lease the space to tech companies after doing renovation work on the 34-year-old property, including replacing an on-site BMX racetrack with a modest bike trail.

"The Eureka Building provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for creative or tech companies in Orange County. There has been a growing demand for creative space in Orange County, especially in the Greater Airport Area," said Senior Associate Shawn Lawrence of Cushman & Wakefield's Orange County office, which negotiated the purchase and will serve as leasing agent for the property. "The Eureka Building creates the synergy of a Silicon Valley campus in the heart of Orange County. It is truly a phenomenal opportunity for local tech companies."

The Eureka Building is a two-story, 40,852-square-foot office building with campus style creative office and event space in Irvine, California. It was created to help foster innovation and creativity by giving technology and design companies in Orange County a home that is centrally located and easily accessed. The campus is located in one of Orange County's premier infill industrial submarkets near Interstates 5, 405 and Highway 55, and offers close proximity to executive housing, destination shopping and the Orange County Airport. According to a press release, two companies have already leased space within the building: Coastal Sports Group, a leading distributor of motorcycle and ATV aftermarket parts, accessories and apparel has leased 8,400 square feet, with another 7,100 square feet leased by XPAL Power, a designer and manufacturer of portable power packs.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Westcore Properties Closes $600M Square Foot Industrial Portfolio

In a joint venture with a fund managed by DRA Advisors, a New York-based investment advisor, Westcore Properties has added more than 24 million square feet to its U.S. commercial real estate holdings with the purchase of an industrial portfolio from the Joe Benvenuti Company. The 110 buildings acquired by Westcore and DRA in the transaction include 8.0 million square feet in Sacramento, as well as 1.9 million square feet in St. Louis and 1.0 million square feet in Indianapolis. The sale followed the death of Joe Benvenuti earlier this year in May and was made by JB Properties. Jones Lang LaSalle's Sacramento office represented both sides in the transaction and said it was the largest industrial real estate acquisition in California this year and the second largest nationally, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune article.

"We have been long- term believers in industrial markets supported by ports and agri-business, which has led us to invest heavily in greater San Francisco as well as the San Joaquin and Central Valley areas of Northern California," said Marc Brutten, Chairman and Founder of Westcore Properties. "This acquisition gives us a strong foothold in Sacramento, a stabilizing market that has an outstanding distribution and transportation network."

"DRA has always been an active investor in industrial space, typically acquiring individual, value-added opportunities," said David Luski, President of DRA Advisors. "We are pleased to have made two larger portfolio acquisitions in the sector this year, as we like the cash flow attributes and opportunity to add value operationally, while benefiting from improving market conditions."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Westcore Secures $70M in Financing for California Properties

Westcore Properties, a San Diego-based owner and operator of institutional industrial and office properties, announced that it had secured $70 million in permanent financing for four recently purchased properties in California. According to a San Diego Business Journal article, terms of the deal were not disclosed, though a company statement said financing packages were arranged through Bank of America, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank.

According to Don Ankeny, Westcore Properties' president and CEO, "The acquisition and immediate financing of these projects totaling almost 1 million square feet is a significant accomplishment for our company which is aggressively working to double in size over the next 12 months."

The financed projects, totaling nearly 1 million square feet, included Central Plaza, a three-building, 150,000-square-foot industrial project in Union City that was acquired for $13 million; Westlake Center, a 45,000-square-foot office building in Encinitas purchased for $6.8 million; Salt Lake Industrial Park, a 132,000-square-foot project in City of Industry purchased by Westcore in a short sale for $9.5 million; and Kato Industrial Park, a 625,000-square-foot, four-building industrial park in Fremont that was just purchased for $45.6 million.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Concord Corporate Centre Sold by Transwestern

Transwestern Investment Company sold a two-building Class A office campus in Concord, California to Westcore Properties for an undisclosed sum this month according to a CoStar report. Westcore Properties was represented by Waveland Financial in the transcation. The 346,747 sqaure foot Concord Corporate Centre previously sold for $99 million in July 2007 when Transwestern acquired the property from Blackstone.

"Concord Corporate Centre is one of the top office projects in Concord and offers flexible and efficient floor plates, due to a center core configuration, that are ideal for smaller tenants," said Neil Johnson, managing director of acquisitions with Westcore Properties' Northern California office. "Westcore Properties recognized the opportunity to secure a Class A asset in a submarket that appears to be rebounding with 54,613 square feet of positive net absorption being reported for the quarter."

Major tenants of Concord Corporate Centre, located just 31 miles east of San Francisco in Contra Costa County, include Pacific Bell Directory, Eichleay Engineers, SeaBright Insurance Company and Gregory B. Bragg & Associates. Cornish and Carey Commercial will reportedly continue to be responsible for the leasing at the property.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.