LOS ANGELES—BLT Enterprises is diversifying its portfolio into the core Southern California markets, focusing on Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. The investor's strategic shift comes after the disposition of $60 million in assets in Ventura County and $65 million in acquisitions in its new target markets. The firm will continue to focus on industrial, office and redevelopment.

“Over the long term, the Southern California market has always produced superior risk adjusted returns,” Bernard Huberman, founder and CEO of BLT Enterprises, tells GlobeSt.com. “It's also an extremely dynamic market that is supported by numerous industries, including entertainment, tech, manufacturing, defense, healthcare and education. The broad base of industries helps cushion the lows during down cycles and accelerate values during growth periods. Southern California is also a major entry and exit point for international trade.

Within the core Southern California markets, BLT has specific target submarkets, including West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Lake Forest and Kearny Mesa, where its recent acquisitions were made. In each market, they have a specific product profile. “For traditional light industrial and distribution facilities, we are focused on core submarkets near major transportation corridors, like downtown Los Angeles, Vernon, El Segundo, Gardena, Torrance, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Ana, Irvine, Carlsbad and Kearny Mesa,” adds Huberman. “We are also looking at other submarkets that are attracting industrial users that are being priced out of their traditional markets. A perfect example of this is the Arts District in Los Angeles. Many users are being forced to migrate south and east due to the escalating prices throughout the area.”

This is a geographical strategic shift, but the firm will continue to focus on the same product types that it has in the past, according to Huberman. “We will continue our focus on distribution, light industrial and manufacturing facilities, while also expanding our adaptive reuse strategy when opportunities present themselves,” he says. “For example, we recently acquired a former manufacturing facility in West Los Angeles and are in the process of converting it into a premier creative office, restaurant and wellness center.”

BLT, which has developed more than $2 billion in product in California, had previously focused on the Ventura market. Ventura has been a great place for us to invest for many years,” says Huberman. “We felt, however, that we had an over-concentration of assets in that submarket and wanted to diversify into more core markets that are positioned for growth over the long-term.”

The firm isn't slowing down. It expects to complete another $65 million in acquisitions in the next 12 months. We have been tremendously active in the market within the last year and anticipate that our activity will only continue grow,” Heberman says.

Instant Insights /

Why Industrial Investors Are Diversifying in SoCal

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