OC industrial investor raises $700M for logistics fund

Newport Beach-based industrial real estate investor CapRock Partners has raised a $700 million fund to focus on the logistics segment of the red-hot distribution sector.

CapRock had an original goal of $450 for its CapRock Logistics Venture fund, according to REBusiness Online.
The firm aims to eventually fund $2 billion worth of projects in the Western United States through CapRock Logistics Venture, totaling 15 million square feet.

The firm has plans for three developments — two in the east Riverside County municipality of Norco and one in the San Bernardino County town of Fontana.

CapRock’s past projects include the Colony Commerce Center in Ontario, developed in a joint venture with Ivanhoe Cambridge. The 3-million-square-foot complex includes 11 buildings across 150 acres.

It’s not surprising that CapRock was able to outraise its original goal, given investors’ eagerness to gain exposure to the strong post-pandemic industrial market. The Southern California market is particularly strong.

Thanks in large part to demand from the e-commerce sector, vacancy in Los Angeles County was down to 1.4 percent at the end of the third quarter. Some submarkets and neighboring counties have vacancy rates below 1 percent.

That’s pushed up rents and attracted investors from across the country. This year has seen numerous six-digit investment sales.

Oak Park, Illinois-based CenterPoint earlier this week closed one of the biggest deals of the year when the firm bought a Carson industrial building for $143 million. It was a leaseback deal with weapons and electronics manufacturer Ducommun. The firm has been on a major expansion push in Southern California this year.

Other firms are closing out the year with acquisitions as well. Dallas-based Covington Group acquired a 70-acre complex in Santa Clarita for $110 million. L.A.-based Staley Point Capital and Bain Capital in Boston partnered on the $24 million acquisition of a 104,000-square-foot complex in Sylmar earlier this month.

[REBusiness Online] — Dennis Lynch