Anyone in real estate will tell you that the key to any deal is location, location, location.
But good timing can also help. The stars aligned with both, location and timing, in a nine-figure sale of a new logistics park in California's East Bay, earning the deal the 2024 CoStar Impact Award for sale/acquisition of the year for East Bay/Oakland, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
After a long entitlement process, Ares Industrial Management broke ground on the 481,487-square-foot industrial center in 2020 and opened its doors in 2022. Though it missed out on the initial surge of interest in industrial properties that marked the start of the pandemic, Ares wasn't actively looking to sell when it was approached by Reyes Holdings, a global beverage and food distributor.
Reyes was searching for a location to consolidate operations and made an offer for Richmond Center III that Ares couldn't pass up. The $140 million deal was the third largest in the East Bay since 2022, according to CoStar data.
"There are very few buildings this size in the East Bay and all involved navigated a lengthy entitlement process during a drastically changing capital market landscape, all the while keeping a great business local and preserving jobs in Richmond," wrote Chris Schofield, an Impact Award judge and principal at Lee & Associates.
About the Deal: Reyes is one of the largest global distributors and works with some of the biggest brands in the world. The company’s subsidiaries include Reyes Beverage Group, the nation’s largest beer distributor; Martin Brower, McDonald’s largest global distributor; and Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, a bottler and distributor that operates in the Midwest and on the West Coast.
What the Judges Said: "The sale and acquisition of the Richmond Distribution Center III allows for a local beverage distribution company to consolidate multiple locations from throughout Northern California, thus retaining important jobs and commerce in the East Bay region," said Angela Tsui, economic development manager for the City of Walnut Creek.
They Made it Happen: JLL represented the buyer as part of a team that included Tim O'Rourke, senior managing director; Jason Ovadia, executive managing director; Ryan Sitov, managing director; Michael McRoskey, managing director; Michael Fowler, senior managing director; and Thomas Mensendiek, vice president. Colliers represented the seller as part of a team that included Vice Chairman Greig Lagomarsino and Todd Severson, executive vice president.
CoStar Market Manager Jordan Taylor contributed.