Retail, Industrial Land Deals Top $42M

In the 1031 exchange, Irvine-based Faris Lee reports that Los Angeles-based Wolf Trust bought an 88,341-square-foot single-tenant retail property occupied by El Super Grocery Store, one of Southern California's most successful Hispanic grocery operators. The property also includes El Super's corporate headquarters.

[IMGCAP(2)]Situated on approximately 6.7 acres and remodeled in 2009 to meet El Super's retail and corporate headquarter requirements, the property is located 14601 Lakewood Blvd., within Paramount Town Center, which is co-anchored by a Walmart. The seller was LDR/DMG Paramount, which was represented by Faris Lee senior managing director Donald MacLellan and Richard Walter, president of the Irvine-based firm. The buyer was represented by Mitch Conlee of Daum Commercial.

According to MacLellan, the buyer―who paid all cash―was one of a number of investors that Faris Lee targeted in focusing on "those who understand the rapidly growing Hispanic retail market within Southern California." Says MacLellan, "We got the buyer on board by communicating that this property was in a dense, in-fill location." Additionally, El Super had recently completed major capital improvements to the former Albertson's store to both the retail portion and build out of the corporate headquarters, "demonstrating the tenant's long-term leased investment in the property," McClellan adds. El Super relocated to the property in September 2009 in a 20-year lease.

In the industrial deal, Voit Real Estate Services reports that Walnut Business Center LLC bought a three-building, 165,697 square-foot industrial park in Diamond Bar from Foremost Airport Vegas Ltd. for $13.975 million. The sale involved the assumption of the existing loan from Washington Mutual, now JP Morgan Chase, according to Dan Vittone of Voit. Vittone was part of a Voit team from the company's Irvine office of including Al Pekarcik and Nick Frasco who represented the seller; Josh Hayes of Colliers International's Diamond Bar office assisted Voit on the sale.

The multi-tenant industrial park is located at 745-831 S. Lemon Ave., 20507-20547 and 20529-20847 Walnut Dr. Vittone says that the buyer was attracted to the institutional-quality asset not only because of the attractive financing, but because of its prime location in the Industry East industrial submarket, which historically maintains a low vacancy, as well as the price per square foot.

In the land deal, Cushman & Wakefield reports that manufacturer C.R. Laurence Co. bought a 10.7-acre parcel of raw land at 2200 E. 55th St. and 2001 E. 57th St. in Vernon from the City of Vernon for $14.4 million. The buyer―a supplier to the glazing, railing, architectural, construction, industrial, and automotive industries―plans to expand its long-term presence in Vernon with the construction of an additional 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on the land.

Both the buyer and the seller were represented by Cushman & Wakefield executive director John McMillan, senior director Jeff Sanita and Associate Tim Wallace. Lloyd Talbert, president of CRL, said, "The new property will enable us to complete a planned expansion of our manufacturing operations and will mark the company's fifth industrial facility located in Vernon."

The City of Vernon consists almost entirely of industrial properties located approximately five miles southeast of Los Angeles. It is home to more than 1,800 businesses that employ approximately 50,000 workers.