CenterPoint Properties has acquired a nearly 200,000-square-foot industrial building in Hayward for an undisclosed amount, the latest indication of continued strength in the East Bay city’s industrial sector.
“We strongly believe in the fundamentals of the Hayward area. Institutional dollars are pouring into investment and development here for good reason – the leasing market is dynamic, and the barriers to entry are very high,” Evan Lippow, CenterPoint’s senior vice president of investments for the west region, said.
CenterPoint’s new asset is a 190,286-square-foot building covering 33 percent of an 11.5-acre lot at 25001 Industrial Boulevard. The seller was Life Chiropractic College West, a private chiropractic school in Hayward, according to public records.
One reason Centerpoint moved on this property was its access to parking which JP Perez, investment manager for the west region, called “a desperately sought after commodity in the Bay Area.”
The East Bay industrial sector has not slowed down from a red hot first quarter, according to a second-quarter report by CBRE. Asking leases are up 19 percent from last quarter to $1.31 while 2.7 million square feet of new industrial space is currently under construction. The market currently has 5.6 million square feet available for sale and 817,106 square feet open for sublease, according to the report.
The report found a vacancy rate of 2.3 percent and the limited available space is driving up lease rates and quick deals when facilities come on the market. There are 52 active companies touring and negotiating leases for a total of 6.4 million square feet of available space, according to the report.
“The current level of activity should translate to continued positive net absorption through the balance of the year due to limited new space deliveries,” the report said.
Modular homebuilding company Veer recently subleased a 506,925-square-foot warehouse in Hayward from Amazon. Annabelle Candy sold its Hayward manufacturing site to New York-based Fortress Investment Group for $13 million earlier this year.