Howard Schwimmer
Analyst · Citigroup. Please proceed with your question
Thanks, Michael. And thank you everyone for joining us today. I’ll start with a brief update on our market, utilizing data from CBRE and discuss our recent acquisition, disposition and pipeline activity which has been robust. In the second quarter, strong market fundamentals continued in Rexford’s Southern California infill market. Excluding the Inland Empire East, which is not our focus, asking rents increased in all of our sub-market by 7.2% on a weighted average basis versus one year ago, and occupancy ended at 98.4%, up 10 basis points from the prior quarter. Moving on to our recent acquisition activity which totals about $224 million in the second quarter. In April, we purchased Ward Avenue and Simi Valley, a 139,000 square foot two tenant industrial building into Ventura County market for $16.5 million. This high quality property is 100% leased two tenant at the low market rates and was acquired in an off market transaction. The initial yield on cost is approximately 5.8%. In May, the Company acquired Safari Business Center in a 16 building industrial park, containing 1.14 million square feet on 52 acres, located in Ontario in the Inland Empire West submarket for $141.2 million. This property was 97% leased at closing. At in place rent estimated to be approximately 17% below market. This high image property is the largest and considered to be the best industrial park in the submarket with an average tenant size of about 15,000 square feet. The acquisition is immediately accretive to cash flow and operating margin with an initial yield just below 5% and with the projected stabilized yield on cost of 5.4%. However, we are outperforming on new and renewal rates already, so the stabilized yield maybe higher. In June, Rexford completed the acquisition of Conant Street and Long Beach, a newly constructed a 100% leased industrial building, containing approximately 143,000 square feet for $30.6 million. This 32 foot clear of these certified buildings is in the Los Angeles, South Bay submarket adjacent to the Long Beach Airport with new retail office and hotel development adjacent to property. The initial yield is approximately 6.2%. In June, in an off-market transaction, we purchased Argosy Avenue, a 35,000 square foot single tenant industrial building located in the Orange County West submarket for $5.3 million. The property is 100% leased from a single high quality tenant. The initial yield is approximately 5.7%. Also, in June, in a lightly marketed transaction we acquired a 198,000 square foot three building 100% leased property at Carmenita Road and Excelsior Drive for $30.7 million. This property consists of 30 foot clear two tenant building and two single tenant buildings, each with excess land located in [indiscernible] part of the Los Angeles mid county submarket, which leads the Greater LA region with 20.3% year-over-year rent growth. The property has in place rents estimated to be approximately 17% below market with value-add repositioning opportunities upon lease exploration. The initial yield on the acquisition is just below 5% with a projected stabilized yield on cost of approximately 5.4%. We completed two dispositions in the second quarter for a total of $58.8 million, which provided a portion of the funding for acquisition. Year-to-date, our dispositions total approximately $66 million. In May, we sold Midway, comprising two vacant buildings covering 374,000 square feet in the Central San Diego submarket for approximately $40.1 million. This property was purchased in October 2015 for $19.3 million and sold just prior to commencing redevelopment to an unsolicited buyer planning to convert the property to office and residential use. We achieved an IRR of 48% and utilized the capital to toward our purchase of Safari Business Center, which provides immediate cash flow. Additionally, in June, we sold South Harbor Boulevard, a single tenant building containing a 127,000 square feet in the Orange County airport submarket. The property was sold to the in place tenant who exercised the purchase option for $18.7 million. Subsequent to quarter end, in July, Rexford completed an additional $286 million of acquisition. We acquired a four building 100% leased 218,000 square foot industrial complex located in the Inland Empire West submarket at $26.9 million. In place rents are estimated to be over 20% below market, enabling us to take an in place yield of just under 4.5% to approximately 5.5%. Additionally, we acquired Kingsview in an off market transaction, which is a two tenant 100% leased 100,000 square foot building located in Carson part of the South Bay submarket for $14 million. The initial yield on this acquisition was just over 5% and is projected to stabilize at approximately 5.5%. Also, we acquired a 201,000 square foot single tenant industrial building on White Birch Drive in the Inland Empire West for $19.8 million. In place rents are estimated to be 16% below market today, enabling us to move the initial 5% yield to a projected yield upon renewal or re-tenanting of 5.5%. We acquired Azusa Canyon, an 87,000 square foot newly constructed industrial property in the San Gabriel Valley submarket $14.6 million. Building is fully leased two tenants but it was constructed as four units, which we expect to drive premium rental rate. The initial yield is just under 5%. Finally, we acquired Rancho Pacifica Industrial Park, our rare opportunity to acquire a core institutional quality industrial complex, approximately six miles from Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Rancho Pacifica consists of six high quality buildings, totaling 1.17 million square feet on 56 acres located in the South Bay submarket for $210.5 million. With in place rents estimated to approximately 25% below market and with 75% of leases rolling over the next three years, we expect to move the initial 3.5% yield to approximately 5%. This acquisition is accretive day-one by enabling us to achieve greater scale and operating margin in the South Bay submarket, which is 220 million square feet is the largest submarket in Los Angeles County and at 0.6% vacancy is also at strong. With $527 million of acquisitions completed year-to-date, we've had a strong year of growing our portfolio of high quality industrial asset. Our team’s deep local knowledge and our research driven origination efforts, enabled approximately 60% off-market, or marketed acquisition this quarter. Looking ahead, we have approximately $28 million of deals under LOI or contract. The volume and relative mix of four and value add opportunities in future periods will vary as we continue to combine immediate cash flow growth and long-term value creation. I'll now turn the call over to Adeel.