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PARAMOUNT, CA-The Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. grocery chain hassigned a 30-year, $207-million lease for all 551,897 sf of awarehouse and distribution center being developed by Irvine-basedBirtcher Development & Investments in partnership withCornerstone Real Estate Advisers of Hartford. The warehouse willserve Kroger's Ralphs and Food 4 Less supermarkets in SouthernCalifornia.

The Birtcher-Cornerstone JV plans to begin construction in early2008 on the new project, which is called Birtcher DistributionCenter at Paramount, and to complete the project in the thirdquarter next year. The lease, believed to be among the largest suchindustrial transaction ever signed in the US, was negotiated by BobCrenshaw and Steve Sprenger of the Anaheim office of Grubb &Ellis on behalf of Birtcher and Cornerstone, with David Norrie andArt Rasmussen, co-directors of the CBRE Food Facilities Group,representing the Kroger Co.