Rexford pays $340M for 2 industrial parks

Rexford Industrial Realty has picked up a pair of Los Angeles County industrial properties — one in Whittier and another in Sylmar — for a combined $339.2 million.

The investment adds 1.1 million square feet to Rexford’s substantial Southern California portfolio and nearly doubles its total acquisition volume for the year to $729.3 million, according to a company release.

The major property is Whittier’s Gateway Pointe Industrial Campus at 3629-3963 Workman Mill Road. Rexford paid $296.6 million for the 989,000-square-foot industrial park, or $300 per square foot. The property total 45 acres.

It is 100 percent leased, and Rexford estimates rents are 21 percent below market rate. The deal all cash deal was done with 1031 exchange funds.

Rexford also paid $42.6 million — $212 per square foot — for 13943-13955 Balboa Boulevard in Sylmar. That 200,000-square-foot building is also 100 percent occupied by three tenants. Rexford estimates rents are 19 percent below market rate. The property encompasses 10.5 acres. It is Rexford’s second acquisition in Sylmar in recent weeks.

Rexford is one of Southern California’s most active industrial investors. By this time last year, the firm had spent more than $850 million on acquisitions.

Industrial real estate is one of the very few property sectors that’s had a good year during the pandemic. The Southern California market, and Los Angeles in particular, has also been strong.

Where vacancy is up sharply in most other categories, vacancy for industrial space hovered around 2.6 percent in the third quarter, barely up from a year prior. Imports are up at the Port of Long Beach and average leasing prices for industrial space is up 2.2 percent year-over-year.