AMB bought the Clipper Center when it was vacant and brought itto modern standards before leasing it to USC Intermodal, which is athird-party logistics supplier. The San Francisco-based propertyowner was represented by Jim Biondi, Terry Reitz and Brian Held ofthe South Bay office of Grubb & Ellis. The tenant wasrepresented by Mike Quagletti of Industrial Realty.

The new USC Intermodal facility is located in the South Bayindustrial submarket of Los Angeles, equidistant from Los AngelesInternational Airport and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.USC Intermodal has leased the property to accommodate its expandingpresence in the South Bay.

Gene Reilly, AMB's president for the Americas, comments that theSouth Bay submarket benefits from two powerful demand drivers:access to Los Angeles International Airport and the ports of LosAngeles and Long Beach, as well as proximity to the huge andgrowing population base in Southern California. The rail-served AMBClipper Distribution Center benefits from port-driven distributionand surface storage requirements "in the most supply-constrainedsubmarket of Los Angeles," Reilly adds. Recent market reports bymajor brokerage firms describe the South Bay as a submarket ofapproximately 220 million net rentable sf, with a vacancy rate ofabout 2% and average asking montly triple-net lease rates in themid-60-cent-range.