LAX Freight Delivery Leases 123K sf Warehouse in Commerce

LAX Freight Delivery has signed a lease for a 123,100-square-foot distribution warehouse in Commerce.

The third-party logistics firm based in Huntington Park leased the recently renovated industrial building at 2187 Garfield Avenue, six miles southeast of Downtown L.A., the Commercial Observer reported. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

Owners Staley Point Capital, based in Sawtelle, and Boston-based Bain Capital Real Estate, bought the 7-acre property in fall 2021 for $38.5 million. At the same time, Brentwood-based Mesa West Capital provided $30.5 million in financing.

Brokers Jon Reno, Mark Vanis, Trevor Gale and Sage Segal represented Staley Point and Bain in the lease deal. Broker Marc DiGennaro of Lee & Associates represented LAX Freight.

“Despite the current economic climate, we see continued interest for industrial space in key infill markets like Los Angeles, with buildings offering unique attributes for the supply chain logistics industry,” Reno of JLL said in a statement.

For the sixth consecutive quarter, the L.A. industrial market saw negative absorption, according to JLL’s third-quarter report.

For industrial buildings of more than 100,000 square feet, net absorption was practically flat, but move-outs nearly tripled move-ins in spaces under 100,000 square feet.

The market in Central Los Angeles, which includes Commerce, has declined given its predominance of small to midsize properties. Since the second quarter, average asking rates in the region fell by 9 percent, according to JLL.

However, manufacturing firms and third-party logistics businesses such as LAX Freight Delivery have made a resurgence as tenants.

In one of the biggest industrial deals in Los Angeles County this year, an entity affiliated with Commerce-based Dedeaux Properties bought an 882,000-square-foot distribution warehouse at 4000 Union Pacific Avenue and 4040 Noakes Avenue for $190 million, or $215 per square foot, according to the Observer.

The seller in the short-term sale-leaseback deal was 99 Cents Only Stores.

In August, Staley Point Capital and Bain Capital Real Estate sold two industrial properties in Santa Fe Springs and Brea to an unidentified buyer for $54 million, or $339 per square foot.

— Dana Bartholomew