Gelson's Signs $20M Industrial Lease

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA—Gelson's Market has signed a long-term lease for a 248,304-square-foot industrial facility at the Freeway Springs Logistics Center in Santa Fe Springs, CA. The lease transaction is valued at $20 million.

“Gelson's has had a strong presence in Southern California and wanted to stay in the general Los Angeles vicinity,” Stephen Calhoun, senior executive vice president at Colliers International, tells GlobeSt.com. “This facility represented an excellent choice for them based on the size and proximity to freeways and to their employee base.” Calhoun represented Gelson's in the transaction along with his Colliers International colleagues SVP Craig Stevens and senior associate Tyler Stevens.

Gelson's is relocating and expanding from its warehouse facility in the City of Commerce. The former facility was 130,000 square feet, plus third party warehousing for some products. “They are growing, and the facility they have now is too small for their planned expansion,” says Calhoun. “They looked at numerous facilities within a 10-mile radius within the City of Commerce, but based upon economics and layout, this one rose to the top.” Located at 13833 Freeway Drive, the LEED-certified property is adjacent to the 5 Freeway and features 36-foot minimum ceiling clearances, ESFR fire sprinkler system, a 180-foot concrete truck court and a fenced and secured truck yard. Gelson's will use 30,000 square feet as office space.

The Santa Fe Springs market has become a popular area for food-related companies. “We have seen over the last four to five years an increase in food related uses in the Santa Fe Springs area, and this lease reinforces that this is a good market for that type of user,” says Calhoun. “That is because there are four or five freeways within close proximity, and that is very important for a distribution company to access all of Southern California.”

Last month, the submarket made headlines when O'Neil Logistics signed a 288,000-square-foot lease at a class-B industrial facility in the market. The logistics firm signed a five-year lease with the landlord, Westcore Properties.