Rexford adds biggest industrial property in Simi Valley

Rexford Industrial Realty has purchased the largest industrial property in suburban Simi Valley for $46.4 million.

The L.A.-based industrial landlord bought a 242,100-square-foot industrial building at 2280 Ward Avenue in the Ventura County municipality, according to Lee & Associates, which brokered the deal.

Local logistics firm Topaz Distribution sold the property. Topaz bought the building for $14 million in 2012 and added 40,000 square feet in a renovation in 2015.

Rexford plans to hold the property and raise rents to match market rates. Tenants at the property include Tire Hub, Sooner Express and Frontline, as well as Topaz, which will continue to take around 51,000 square feet at the building.

In a statement, Lee & Associates’ Mike Tingus called the sale “unimaginable” before the pandemic, adding there is demand for industrial properties that the “marketplace can’t absorb.”

Ventura County saw 114,000 square feet of new inventory added to the market in the first three quarters of this year, though new construction is underway, according to Lee & Associates.

Steady demand combined with the slow pace of new development has forced prices for industrial property to skyrocket in Simi Valley, which is on the northwest boundary of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. In October, a 290,000-square-foot distribution center leased to Amazon sold for $128 million — around eight times what it sold for in 2020.

Rexford is pushing ahead on purchases despite high pricing. In the last two months, the firm spent $107 million to acquire four industrial sites across L.A. and the Inland Empire.