In the Sparks deal, near the Reno metropolitan area and approximately 20 miles northeast of Lake Tahoe, A&B subsidiary WDCI, Inc. for $20.1 million. The center comprises four buildings totaling 396,080 sf on 20.7 acres. The multi-tenant business park has access to air, rail and highway routes and was completed in 1998, A&B says. The nearby Reno-Tahoe International Airport is home to distribution facilities for UPS, FedEx and Emery, while Interstate 80/US 395 highways provide surface access to all major West Coast markets.

Major international tenants include Carrier Corp. (38,400 sf), the world's largest manufacturer of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems; and Unique Industries (171,900 sf), a privately held company that manufacturers children's merchandise for the United States, Canada and England, which recently signed a lease extension. Other industrial tenants include local and regional manufacturers, while office tenants include the City of Sparks and St. Mary's Health Care Corporation, have office space in the facility.

In the Ontario deal, A&B sold the Day Creek Industrial Park to Americana Mobile Estates. The warehouse and industrial center comprises 147,319 sf on an 8.18-acre parcel. A&B bought the property in June 1999 and it is 100% occupied.

A&B Properties' Norbert M. Buelsing, an executive vice president, says the company was not actively marketing the property, but a recent lease extension the company negotiated with Federal Express enhanced its value. A&B owns two other warehouse/industrial centers in Ontario: the Ontario Distribution Center and the Ontario-Pacific Distribution Center.

Including this latest acquisition, A&B Properties has a portfolio of 18 properties on the U.S. mainland and 26 commercial properties in Hawaii, comprising more than 5 million sf of retail, office and industrial space. In its other recent Southern California deal, the company sold the 135,000-sf Moulton Plaza in Laguna Hills for $20.5 million.