The following Southern California companies made the Refrigerated & Frozen Foods magazine list of 150 top food processors: Overhill Farms, Inc.; Golden State Foods, Meat Products Group; Ready Pac Produce Inc.; SunOpta Fruit Group; and Frozsun Foods Inc.
Central Los Angeles Industrial Market Boundaries
The Central Los Angeles industrial real estate market encompasses approximately 300 million square feet of building area. This market includes the well-known submarkets: City of Vernon, City of Commerce, and Downtown Los Angeles. It should be noted that the following areas on the periphery to Downtown are also included in the Central LA market: Lincoln Heights, Glassell Park, City Terrace, East L.A., Boyle Heights, South Industrial, and the Goodyear Tract. In the Central LA submarket buyer and tenant demand remains strong compared to outlying markets. In fact, the Central submarket remains the tightest metropolitan industrial market in the nation. This submarket is an infill market and very little new construction occurs on empty industrial land (with almost no construction on other types of commercial real estate such as retail and office). The Central LA market is also the largest industrial real estate submarket in Los Angeles County.
Warehousing Proximity to Ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach
There is an unrelenting desire by warehouse users to occupy properties within close proximity to Los Angeles’ ports – where 40 percent of all containerized cargo enters the United States. Vacancy rates remain historically low in the Southern California Industrial Real Estate market, however, a flattening of cargo activity at the local Los Angeles and Long Beach ports may spell a warning for the area’s outlook in 2008. The fact remains, though, that the two ports ranked first in the nation for container activity in 2006, placing 5th in the world. In the above aerial photo, industrial parcels are outlined in green.
Food Building Roundup 2008-04-10
A 16,570 square foot building was leased to a company that prepares school lunches. The building was located at Alameda and 21st Street, and was formerly occupied by a seafood processing and packaging company which focused on shrimp products. Included in the long term lease was 2 cooler boxes, a 22 foot high freezer, and a large food processing room with washable walls and floor drains. The prior tenant relocated to a seafood building in the South Bay that was approximately 12,000 square feet in size. One broker coordinated the simultaneous transactions and the entire deal spaned several months.
An 18,000 square foot warehouse was leased to a Downtown Los Angeles produce company on Industrial Street. The building included an unusually high number of dock high loading positions for an older building: eleven. The produce company was attracted to the building for its proximity to the produce market ,the fact the building had 3 refrigerated coolers, and there was sufficient yard space to accomodate large 53 foot container trucks.
The following food buildings are available for occupancy lease and/or sale:
- Marengo St- Cooler and freezer with dock high loading for a 10,000 SF facility. Forlease.
- Main St- USDA food processing facility built in 1999 with 5000 SF freezer, 2500 SF cooler and 5000 SF processing room in 26,000 SF of improvements. Great for poultry, beef, seafood processors.
- Anderson St- 11,000 SF building with freezers, coolers and truck high loading.
- Industrial St- 23,000 SF building with 6000 SF freezer and 1200 SF cooler and 7 dock high spots.
- 6th St- 23,000 SF concrete building with 3000 SF cooler and 1100 SF freezer, 16 truck high positions and 22 foot clear.
- Alameda St- 15000 SF building with 8000 SF cooler and 4 dock high spots. Great location for produce distribution.
- Alameda St- 16000 SF building with 4000 SF of coolers and freezers and processing room. 3 truck high spots.
- Spring St- U.S.D.A. federal inspection facility for poultry and meat processing with coolers and freezers. 17000 SF building.
- Triangle Dr- 23000 SF building, former commercial bakery with coolers, freezer and processing rooms.
Mixed Bag for SoCal Economy
Southern California’s economy continues to slow as the housing downturn has been full swing for a few quarters. However, the following industries have been growth drivers: retail trade, transportation, warehousing and logistics, administrative and support, leisure and hospitality, and professional, scientific and technical services. Even with falling single-family home prices, tighter mortgage underwriting standards, and increasing residential notices of default and foreclosures, the industrial real estate markets continue to remain stable in sales prices and rental rates. Though industrial economics remain flat, transactions numbers and absorption values are half the numbers from a year ago.