PICO RIVERA, CA-An affiliate of West Los Angeles-based Robertson Properties has refinanced a 372,164-square-foot industrial building here via a $17.5 million loan arranged by Venture West Funding of El Segundo. Matt Douglas of Venture West, who arranged the financing through Prudential Mortgage Capital, tells GlobeSt.com that the borrower owned the property free and clear and sought the refinancing “ to take advantage of today's low fix rates and lock up 10 year financing."

According to Douglas, “We secured a 10-year fixed, non-recourse loan amortized over 30 years at a rate under 5%. This lender offered the most competitive rates and greatest flexibility for our borrower.”

The 372,164-SF warehouse and distribution facility is located at 8462 East Whittier Blvd. in Pico Rivera, CA and is 100% leased by three tenants–CHEP, Bimbo Bakeries, and Bay Cities Container Corp. All three tenants have occupied the building since Robertson Properties Group constructed it in 2002.

The financing of the industrial building illustrates both the availability of capital and the improvement in the Los Angeles area industrial market, which has been faring well despite the downturn and despite the sluggishness of some other sectors, notably the office market. In Greater Los Angeles, according to a second-quarter market survey by CB Richard Ellis, industrial demand continued to increase.

As a result, the direct vacancy for the region dropped from 3.3% at the end of 2010 to 2.9% at the end of the second quarter, according to the CBRe report. It noted that total gross activity for the quarter was approximately 9.8 million square feet in Greater Los Angeles, while net absorption was also positive during the quarter totaling more than 1.1 million square feet, making the fifth consecutive quarter of positive net absorption.