Exeter Property Buys Inland Empire Distribution Center for $98M

6227 Cajon Blvd. Image courtesy of JLL

Exeter Property Group has paid $97.8 million for an 806,322-square-foot Class A distribution center in the Inland Empire. Bob’s Discount Furniture is the only tenant of the asset.

Built in 2015, the property is located at 6227 Cajon Blvd. in San Bernardino, Calif. Nuveen Real Estate bought the asset from Hillwood in 2015, then sold it to Waterstone Retail for $68.5 million the following year, according to Yardi Matrix data. In the most recent deal, JLL Capital Markets’ Bo Mills, Mark Detmer and Ryan Sitov acted on behalf of the seller, alongside Scott Schwartz of Insignia PMG.

The distribution and fulfillment property sits on about 41 acres within San Bernardino County’s booming industrial market, east of Los Angeles. The facility has immediate access to interstates 15, 215 and State Road 210, with proximity to BNSF Intermodal Yard, FedEx Ground Rialto, the UPS regional air hub and Ontario International Airport.

“This listing represented the opportunity for an investor to acquire a building with a long-term lease to a strong tenant in the largest industrial market in the world. The buyer was attracted to the stability of the property, tenant’s commitment to the area and potential for future development growth,” said Detmer, in a prepared statement. 

Logistics boom east of LA

The Inland Empire is one of the most active industrial markets in the country, buoyed by intense demand and strong rental growth, according to CBRE’s latest market report. A wave of new construction starts totaling 8 million square feet in the first quarter brought the total amount of industrial and logistics space under construction to 26.1 million square feet.

San Bernardino International Airport is building the Eastgate Air Cargo Logistics Center, a nearly 700,000-square-foot logistics hub with a price tag of more than $200 million, in partnership with developer Hillwood Enterprises. The facility on 101 acres of vacant land at the airport could be completed by early 2020.

Last year in August, Exeter Property Group purchased a 1.3 million-square-foot light industrial portfolio in Charlotte, N.C., and Houston in a $148 million deal. HFF negotiated the deal on behalf of the seller.