KKR buys Inland Empire industrial in priciest deal of the year

KKR has made the most expensive industrial purchase across the Inland Empire this year.

The New York-based private equity firm bought a 281,000-square-foot warehouse in the city of Eastvale for $136.5 million, according to public property records filed with Riverside County. KKR announced the deal July 8, but did not disclose the price.

KKR scored an $87.5 million loan to buy the property from Invesco, records show.

Two families that own Parker-House Furniture sold the building, located at 6300 Providence Way. The furniture maker has occupied the property since it was built in 2017, though it’s unclear whether it was a sale-leaseback deal.

Though a few buildings in the Inland Empire have sold for more than $100 million this year, none have crossed the $130 million mark. Last month, a 210,600-square-foot warehouse in Jurupa Valley sold to CenterPoint Properties for $101 million. Also, a 344,000-square-foot Amazon facility in Bloomington traded for $102 million.

At $462 per square foot, KKR’s deal was more expensive than the Amazon facility, suggesting buyers are more interested in long-time operators in light of Amazon slightly pulling back from the industrial space.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, KKR has placed big bets on industrial, along with other real estate assets, following the likes of Blackstone and Brookfield in acquiring large swaths of property. In late 2020, the company bought 9.7 million square feet of industrial space across seven markets for about $835 million.

The recent Inland Empire deal seems to be KKR’s largest in the region to date, though the company has bought a number of properties through its Strategic Lease Partners unit. In February, the firm bought five properties for $45.7 million from water marketer BlueTriton Brands.