Two Industrial Leases Fill 134,000 SF

In the 110,000-square-foot deal, the Klabin Co. reports that 100-year-old screen and security door maker Columbia Manufacturing Corp. has leased space at 1639-1641 Rosecrans Ave. in Gardena for expansion and consolidation of its main distribution center. According to Matt Stringfellow and Courtney Bell in Klabin's Torrance office, Columbia will move into the Rosecrans Avenue building this month. The site includes a main 100,000-square-foot building and a separate 10,000-square-foot building.

[IMGCAP(2)]Stringfellow and Bell represented Columbia Manufacturing in the five-year lease, which is valued at $2.5 million. The property owner, Pacific Prime Properties, was represented by Jeff Morgan, John Schumacher and Bret Quinlan of CB Richard Ellis.

In the Camarillo lease, Los Angeles-based Rexford Industrial LLC has leased the 23,700-square-foot industrial facility, which is at 300 S. Lewis Rd., to God's Grace Fellowship Calvary Chapel Camarillo, which signed a seven-and-a-half-year, $1.5 million deal for the space. The church joins other unconventional industrial space tenants at the project including a volleyball school, a gymnastics school and a wine-production facility for local wine enthusiasts.

Michael Frankel, managing partner at Rexford, says that the location, size and configuration of the property make it ideal for this non-traditional use. Rexford worked with the tenant to customize the suite so that it is a suitable for church purposes, Frankel says, and Rexford managing partner Howard Schwimmer adds that the City of Camarillo "has been instrumental in matching Rexford with unconventional tenants that may not have otherwise found this project."

Schwimmer points out that the project accommodates users with large parking requirements. The church has taken early possession of the space after quickly receiving a conditional use permit from the city. Its lease includes the option to extend two additional five-year periods.

The single-tenant building was originally built in the early 1960's and was no longer able to serve conventional industrial uses without substantial renovation. Rexford fully renovated the building and site in 2003, creating a modern multi-tenant industrial complex. The church took advantage of existing improvements in its leased space that enabled a simple retrofit to meet its needs.