A trucking company leased one of the few remaining large industrial spaces in greater Los Angeles as surging e-commerce and proximity to the nation’s biggest ports drive demand for Southern California logistics space.
Pacific Expressway leased 111,000 square feet at 220 W. Victoria St. in Compton, California, a key logistics city that sits between downtown Los Angeles and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Prudential Financial, the Newark, New Jersey-based insurer, owns the building built in 1987. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
It’s the second industrial facility for Pacific Expressway, which has another location less than a mile away at 18726 S. Laurel Park Road, according to state of California records. Company officials didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Greater Los Angeles is one of the most in-demand industrial areas in the United States, and there are a mere two dozen industrial spaces larger than 100,000 square feet available for lease in a market with more than 940 million square feet, according to CoStar data. Only one of those spaces is rated Class A.
“This lease demonstrates the robust demand we continue to see for industrial and logistics product in the South Bay, a location providing convenient access to a large population, major airports, extensive freeway network and two of the world’s busiest ports,” Rusty Smith, executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, said in a statement. Smith was involved in the deal.
Logistics companies have been hungry for whatever space is available. In February, Xchange Logistics, based in Monterey Park in Los Angeles County, signed a five-year lease to take 98,000 square feet at 15650 S. Avalon Blvd. in Compton.
In January, Danish transportation and logistics company DSV Sea & Air was planning to occupy roughly 280,000 square feet at 19901 S. Western Ave. in Torrance.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, e-commerce and third-party logistics firms led the way as part of 8 million square feet in industrial leasing in greater L.A., according to a CBRE report.
The Compton industrial market features an average annual market rent of $13.52 per square foot, below the greater L.A. average of $15.74 per square foot, according to CoStar data.
In addition, the market’s average vacancy rate is 2%. The greater L.A. average is 1.7%.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Rusty Smith and Steve Bohannon represented the landlord in the deal.