SSR had owned the property, which is at 825-985 West 8th St., since April 1996. The industrial center, which was built in two phases during 1986 and 1987, consists of three class A buildings situated on 23.6 acres. The buildings were 100% occupied by six tenants at the time of the sale, according to Fernando Nasmyth, senior portfolio manager for SSR Realty Advisors.

SSR disposed of the asset on behalf of a client of its Core Separate Accounts business unit, with the transaction brokered by Phil Lombardo of the Diamond Bar office of TCC, along with Jeff Cole and Rick Putnam of TCC's Irvine office.

Lombardo tells GlobeSt.com that the Azusa property is part of the North San Gabriel Valley industrial submarket, which is a separate niche of about 35 million sf within the approximately 149-million-sf San Gabriel Valley industrial market. The North San Gabriel Valley market is even tighter than the overall San Gabriel Valley market, Lombardo notes, about 4% compared with about 5.5%. Besides Azusa, the North market includes communities like Irwindale, Baldwin Park and Monrovia.

One reason for the tight market is, "there really aren't many opportunities to build much new product in the North, except for some small parcels here and there," Lombardo says. He notes that the 817,000-sf second phase of the 2.2-million-sf Irwindale Business Center, for which he is listing agent, is already 75% leased after being completed in November, with deals in the works on the remaining 25%. The 1.4-million-sf first phase of the development is fully leased.

The North San Gabriel Valley market has also been helped by the extension of the 210 Freeway, which has improved access to industrial properties. The improved access means pretty good opportunities for rent growth going forward, one of the reasons that Lend Lease liked the Azusa property, Lombardo says.