This Week's LA Deal Sheet
Lincoln Property Co. and a real estate fund advised by Crow Holdings Capital sold a just-built distribution center in San Diego’s Otay Mesa to an Ares Management real estate fund. The facility, called Runway Distribution Center, offers approximately 200K SF across two buildings in the border-close submarket.
JLL represented the sellers. The JLL Capital Markets investment sales and advisory team was led by Senior Director Ryan Spradling, Senior Managing Director Mark Detmer, Managing Director Ryan Sitov and associate Makenna Peter, and the markets team was led by Andy Irwin and Greg Lewis. JLL, which announced the sale, didn't disclose the terms of the deal. Public records don't yet reflect the transaction.
PEOPLE
Cresa’s Lawson Martin and Dennis Smith have been named managing principal and market leader and will lead the firm’s greater Los Angeles and Orange County business operations. The duo will oversee a team of 40 in project management, transaction management and industrial services across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Martin and Smith joined Cresa in 2014. Their promotions are part of a larger corporate expansion plan that also includes the opening of several new offices in Southern California in the coming months.
SALES
Steve Hermann Hotels has sold The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, an 85-room boutique resort in Rancho Santa Fe, north of San Diego, for $100M. The resort is undergoing an extensive renovation. It will be fully operational in the fourth quarter. The resort was purchased by an undisclosed institutional investment fund. Sonnenblick-Eichner Co. arranged the sale on behalf of the seller.
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CapRock Partners acquired the Valley Center Business Park, an industrial complex in the City of Industry. The 6.47-acre multitenant asset offers about 92K SF of industrial warehouse space across six buildings. It was approximately 85% leased at the time of acquisition. CapRock plans to start capital improvements immediately to enhance the property’s functionality and marketability. The firm purchased the property from a private owner in an off-market transaction and didn't disclose the terms of the deal. Public records don't yet reflect the sale.
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Cushman & Wakefield advised the sale of Empire Centre, a 133K SF multitenant industrial project in Otay Mesa. Built in 1999, Empire Centre consists of two freestanding multitenant buildings at 7880 and 7920 Airway Road that had 16 tenants at the time of sale. The asset was acquired by T&S Empire LLC for an undisclosed price. Cushman & Wakefield’s Bryce Aberg, Jeff Chiate, Jeff Cole, Rick Ellison, Mike Adey, Zach Harman and Brad Brandenburg of the national industrial investment advisory group in Southern California represented the seller, TA Realty, in the transaction. Brant Aberg, Regan Tully and Trent Smith with Cushman & Wakefield also provided local market advisory.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
AMLI Residential has broken ground on AMLI Aero, its first project in San Diego. The project at 3585 Aero Court is also one of the first luxury rental developments to break ground as part of Kearny Mesa’s 2020 redevelopment plan, which seeks to transform the primarily industrial neighborhood into a community-focused urban center.
AMLI Aero will be seven stories and feature 434 apartments. The residences will offer studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans ranging from 576 SF to 1,602 SF. The project is scheduled for completion in May 2025. The general contractor for the project is KPRS, and the architect is AO.
FINANCING
Gantry secured a $17M permanent loan to retire bridge financing for the 93K SF Village Center neighborhood retail center in Fountain Valley at 17900 Magnolia St. The Village Center is anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, Rite Aid and Dollar Tree.
Gantry principals Braden Turnbull and George Mitsanas and associate Austin Ridge with the firm’s Los Angeles-El Segundo production office represented property owner Paragon Commercial Group. The five-year, fixed-rate loan was placed with one of Gantry’s correspondent insurance company lenders and has interest-only terms across the life of the loan.
