CT REALTY INVESTORS TOPS RECENT INLAND EMPIRE ACTIVITY WITH ACQUISITION OF CHAMPAGNE PROPERTY
ONTARIO, CA – April 21, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — CT Realty Investors (www.ctrinvestors.com) of Aliso Viejo, Calif., has acquired the Champagne Building in Ontario, Calif., for $17 million. The 386,000-square-foot industrial warehouse, located at 1671 Champagne Ave. on a 15.27-acre site, was purchased from RGR Development Corp. With the Champagne acquisition, CT Realty expands its Inland Empire holdings to more than 3.3 million square feet.
Located east of Interstate 15 and south of Interstate 10, the property is situated in the heart of the Inland Empire West industrial warehouse/distribution market – one of the most desirable markets in the country due to its proximity to the combined ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Ontario International Airport, and numerous rail spurs. The Champagne Building features (39) dock-high positions, 28-foot minimum clear height warehouse space, (8) Union Pacific Railway docks, 4,000 amps of power to each side of the building, 30,000 pound load levelers on each dock, and abundant employee parking. The second floor offers approximately 16,800 square feet of office space.
The property is 50 percent occupied by Amcor PET Packaging, a global manufacturer of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) packaging with 35,000 employees and 300 facilities worldwide.
“The Inland Empire has achieved a remarkable recovery, fueled in large part by a 20 percent increase in port traffic in 2010 compared to 2009,” said Carter Ewing, executive vice president of CT Realty. “Gross absorption was over 30 million square feet and net new absorption was about 12 million square feet for 2010. At the same time, there has been very little in the way of new speculative construction with net new absorption nearing peak levels. The Inland Empire is well on its way to equilibrium, making this acquisition an ideal opportunity for CT Realty.”
The Champagne purchase deepens CT Realty’s commitment to the Inland Empire, a key manufacturing and distribution base in Southern California. Earlier this month, the company announced its purchase of a 225,000-square-foot warehouse/distribution building located on the grounds of the March Air Reserve Base in Moreno Valley, Calif. Last summer, CT Realty, in conjunction with joint venture partner Westcore Properties Inc., acquired the 1.4 million-square-foot Cajon Distribution Center in San Bernardino, Calif. The building was fully leased to Hewlett Packard last month in one of the largest lease transactions in the history of the greater Los Angeles area.
CT Realty also acquired the Archibald Business Center near Ontario International Airport, a 231,444-square-foot Class A industrial building occupied by SKECHERS USA Inc., in 2010. CT also acquired the 801,581-square-foot Interchange Distribution Center and a handful of smaller buildings throughout Inland Empire East and West.
Bill Heim with Lee & Associates in Ontario, Calif., represented CT Realty in the Champagne transaction, with Jeff Smith from Lee & Associates representing the seller, RGR Development. Heitman provided debt financing for the acquisition and was also an equity provider.
Since its establishment in 1994, Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based CT Realty Investors has completed more than 200 transactions with value in excess of $2.5 billion through a series of 10 independent discretionary private equity real estate funds, and continues to invest in institutional quality industrial properties, debt instruments, multi-family properties and other income-producing assets. The focus of CT Realty’s investment activities is to acquire well-located assets in major markets with the potential to enhance their value through a solid, hands-on management approach. For further information, contact Carter Ewing at CT Realty Investors at (949) 330-5777 or visit www.ctrinvestors.com.
Contact:
Donna Hahn
Hahn Communications
(949) 458-3983
donna (at) hahnmarketing (dot) com
