ONTARIO, CA-A&B Properties Inc. has sold its 898,400-square-foot Ontario Distribution Center for $43 million and plans to apply the proceeds to a 1031 exchange. A&B, which is the real estate subsidiary of publicly held Alexander & Baldwin Inc., acquired the three-building industrial park in 2000 for $27 million. Located on 38 acres at 5400-5450 E. Francis St., the project achieved a 97% average occupancy during A&B’s 10-year ownership, according to Norbert M. Buelsing, president of A&B Properties.

“Consistent with our real estate investment strategy, we anticipate reinvesting the proceeds from this sale, through a tax-advantaged 1031 transaction, into other commercial real estate investments with good growth prospects,” Buelsing said in a prepared statement. A&B was represented in the sale by vice chairman Darla Longo and executive vice president Barbara Emmons of CB Richard Ellis. The buyer, Northern California-based James Campbell Co., was represented by Hart Realty Advisors Inc.

The sale of the Ontario property is the latest in a number of transactions by A&B Properties both on the US mainland and in Hawaii in recent months. In July, the Alexander & Baldwin subsidiary acquired the 35-acre Komohana Industrial Park complex located in Kapolei, West Oahu for $38 million. It includes five single and multi-tenant warehouse buildings totaling 238,300 square feet of leasable space, together with 24 acres of land that are leased to two tenants. All 35 acres are zoned industrial, allowing for a variety of commercial and light and heavy industrial uses.

Also in July, A&B completed the acquisition of two fully entitled, fee-simple development sites with prime locations in Honolulu, between the Ala Moana Shopping Center and the Ward retail center. The purchase price for both parcels was $16 million. The first site, comprising 1.7 acres, is located on Waimanu Street adjacent to the Hawai‘iki and Ko‘olani condominium towers, and is approved for a 43-story residential condominium project. The second site, in close proximity to the first site, is a 0.7-acre parcel located at the intersection of Kona and Piikoi streets, and is entitled for an eight-story residential condominium project.

With the sale of the Ontario Distribution Center, A&B Properties’ commercial property/investment portfolio consists of 7.5 million square feet of retail, office and industrial space located in Hawaii and seven US mainland states.