Rexford Industrial Completes $170M in Purchases Across SoCal

18455 S. Figueroa

Rexford Industrial Realty has expanded its Southern California industrial portfolio with five acquisitions totaling $170 million. The REIT targeted assets with value-add potential across key submarkets, bringing its total footprint in the region to 37.2 million square feet.

The largest sum was paid for a single-tenant flex project at 18455 S. Figueroa St. & 501 W. 190th St. in Gardena, Calif. Rexford paid $64.3 million to Atlas Capital Group for the 9-acre property, which comprises three buildings totaling 146,765 square feet.

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CommercialEdge data shows that Atlas Capital Group purchased the asset in 2019 from Two Harbors Investment. The sole tenant is Faraday Future, an electric vehicle start-up which has been leasing the buildings since it was founded in 2014. Upon lease expiration, Rexford plans to redevelop the entire campus into a single-tenant industrial building, planned to feature 36-foot heights, ESFR sprinklers and a 185-foot truck court. The site is located less than a mile from the I-110/I-440 interchange, and about 14 miles from the Port of Long Beach, as well as Los Angeles International Airport.

24903 Avenue Kearny

Rexford also acquired 24903 Avenue Kearny in Santa Clarita for $58.5 million. The 214,436-square-foot building is fully occupied by pharmaceutical wholesaler AmerisourceBergen. According to CommercialEdge, the building last traded in 2020, when it was acquired by Dedeaux Properties.

Last year, the asset became subject to a $21.5 million loan, provided by Zions Bank. Rexford expects to increase profit from the long-term lease—its rate is projected to grow by 3.0 percent annually.

The remaining three assets that changed hands are:

• 14005 Live Oak Ave. in Irwindale, purchased for $25 million—currently a 56,610-square-foot office building, which Rexford plans to redevelop into a 100,000-square foot logistics facility
• 444 Quay Ave. in Wilmington, for which the REIT paid $10.8 million. This building is adjacent to another Rexford property, acquired in 2019. The owner plans to redevelop both into a single-tenant, low coverage industrial facility.
• 19475 Gramercy Place in Torrance, acquired for $11.3 million. Rexford plans to reposition the vacant, 47,712-square-foot building and re-lease it.

Rexford Industrial Realty continues to bet on its long-term strategy of targeting Southern California infill locations. In 2021’s last quarter, the company acquired 2 million square feet of industrial space for an aggregate price of $551.4 million, according to its most recent earnings report.

Industrial real estate continues to be a top performing sector in Southern California. According to a recent CommercialEdge report, metro Los Angeles alone recorded over $6.6 billion in industrial sales last year, while the Inland Empire registered $4.3 billion. The price per square foot in Los Angeles was also among the highest in the country, at $298 as of December, more than double the national average of $112.