RAF Pacifica Sells San Diego Industrial Portfolio for $170M

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

dis·trib·ute, located at 3261 & 3266 Lionshead Ave. in Carlsbad, Calif.

A private investment company has acquired a portfolio of 12 institutional-quality core industrial properties spread throughout the San Diego area, from RAF Pacifica Group, for $170 million.

Cushman & Wakefield represented RPG in the deal. The buyer was self-represented.

The Class A properties, which total more than 1 million square feet, are located in the northern county cities of Carlsbad (three projects), Vista (four projects), San Marcos (three projects) and Temecula (two projects).

“For some of the new buildings that we had built, the business plan was to sell them after they were built either before fully leased or after,” Adam Robinson, RPG’s founder & president, told Commercial Property Executive. “And because we had some vacancy in the older portfolio, we figured it made sense to sell some of the assets that were leased that we created a lot of value in.”

pro·duc·tion, located at 195 Bosstick Blvd. in San Marcos, Calif.

Two of the properties that stood out in the deal were both new construction—dis·trib·ute, located at 3261 & 3266 Lionshead Ave. in Carlsbad, and pro·duc·tion, located at 195 Bosstick Blvd. in San Marcos.

“They were brand new, Class A distribution/manufacturing facilities in markets where nothing new has really been built since 2007,” Robinson said. “The one in San Marcos, there hasn’t been anything built since early 2000s.”

A third ground-up property, gen·er·ate, located at 1125 Joshua Way in Vista, was an addition to an existing building, but much smaller in scope than the others.

The sale also comprised nine industrial assets that RPG purchased, renovated, re-tenanted and improved to create value. The properties included 3193 Lionshead Ave. in Carlsbad; 2281 Las Palmas Drive in Carlsbad; 1385 Park Center Drive in Vista; 2641 and 2651 La Mirada Drive in Vista; 120 Mata Way in San Marcos; 2946, 2950 & 2954 Norman Strasse Road in San Marcos; 1880 Diamond St. in San Marcos; 26201 Ynez Road in Temecula; and 42259 Rio Nedo Road in Temecula.

An appealing dozen

The properties offer highly efficient warehouse designs and loading capabilities, low office build-out percentages, expansive clear heights and strategic layouts for effective parking, loading and truck traffic flow.

According to Robinson, the money from the sale will be utilized in a variety of ways.

“We’re exchanging some of it into some land deals that we’re working on right now,” Robinson said. “We’re still doing ground-up development, building some office and industrial outside of Santa Barbara and have some mixed-use projects we are working on in Costal North County. Some we are just going to pay taxes on.”

The dozen properties are all relatively close, within a 15- to 20-minute drive of one another.

“It was a great opportunity for someone to get a substantial portfolio in North San Diego County,” Robinson said. “They were able to get a good mix of leased product and brand new. That’s what made it really attractive.”

Cushman & Wakefield’s most recent San Diego County market report noted a strong direct vacancy of just 4.1 percent as of midyear for the area, with the North County direct industrial vacancy a bit higher, at 4.9 percent.

Last year, RPG entered a joint venture with USAA Real Estate Co. to develop Park 840 East Building 100, a 558,600-square-foot Class A distribution/logistics facility in Lebanon, Tenn.

Images courtesy of RAF Pacifica Group