Ducommun Sells Carson Industrial Facility In $143M Sale-Leaseback Deal With CenterPoint Properties

Ducommun, a Santa Ana-based defense and aerospace company, has sold its Carson industrial facility in a sale-leaseback deal totaling $143M with CenterPoint Properties. 

The deal brings CenterPoint's year-to-date Southern California acquisitions to north of $750M, according to L.A. Biz.

“The combination of a highly strategic location with this asset's scale and configuration makes this a very valuable addition to our infill portfolio,” CenterPoint Investment Officer Ashley Vanacore said in a statement.

Ducommun will lease the approximately 307K SF property on Gardena Avenue from CenterPoint for an initial lease term of five years, with three five-year renewal options, according to the company.

“Industrial properties in the Southern California market are in extremely high demand right now, and the company is taking full advantage of it," Ducommun President and CEO Stephen G. Oswald said in a statement. "The completion of this transaction will bring significant value to the company and its shareholders by monetizing a portion of our legacy CA owned real estate portfolio."

Ducommun's premium on the sale speaks to this demand; the company said it generated $110M in net after-tax cash proceeds from the transaction. 

Property records indicate the company paid just over $541K for the property at 268 East Gardena Blvd. in 1998; company officials did not confirm that figure.

Industrial properties are indeed in high demand right now. A Q3 CBRE report found industrial vacancy for the greater LA area at the historically low level of 1%, with the South Bay (which includes Carson) as a particularly active area of the region. Industrial sales volume during the third quarter for greater LA was up 38% year-over-year to $1.6B.

CBRE National Partners Joe Cesta, Darla Longo and Barbara Perrier brokered the transaction.