AMB Leases 199,000-SF Warehouse

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

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

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

Kim Snyder, AMB's managing director for the Southwest Region, comments that, "We anticipate even further demand for our port-related infill properties in Los Angeles with implementation of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach's Clean Trucks Program," which is aimed at reducing emissions from trucks serving the ports. "The benefit of our distribution facilities located adjacent to the ports will be emphasized, with reduced transportation time and costs," Snyder observes.

AMB's Southern California portfolio of operating properties was more than 98% leased as of Dec. 31. Southern California is AMB's largest market globally, with approximately 22.8 million sf of properties operating and/or under development.