A&B still shuffling mix of properties

Advertiser Staff

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. is continuing diversification of its real estate investment portfolio, announcing its purchase this week of a warehouse/industrial property in Nevada and sale of a Southern California industrial property.

The acquisition brings the portfolio of its real estate subsidiary A&B Properties to 18 properties on the U.S. mainland and 26 commercial properties in Hawai'i, for a total of more than 5 million square feet of leasable retail, office and industrial space.

"A&B has continued to identify investment opportunities both in Hawai'i and on the Mainland as we enhance and balance our investment portfolio with a mix of retail, commercial and industrial properties," said president and CEO Allen Doane.

The two transactions cap a year that saw the sale of shopping centers in Colorado and Southern California and Texas industrial complex, and purchase of shopping centers in Mililani and in Long Beach, Calif.

A&B said yesterday it had bought, through its subsidiary WDCI Inc., the Sparks Business Center in Sparks, Nev., for $20.1 million. The four buildings contain 396,080 square feet of leasable area on 20.7 acres.

It sold the Day Creek Industrial Park in Ontario, Calif., to Americana Mobile Estates for $6.3 million. The warehouse/industrial center comprises 147,319 square feet of leasable space on 8.18 acres. A&B Properties bought the property in June 1999 for $5.3 million.

"We were not actively marketing this property, but a recent lease extension we negotiated with Federal Express definitely enhanced its value," said A&B Properties Executive Vice President Norbert M. Buelsing.

The company still owns two warehouse/industrial centers in Ontario: the Ontario Distribution Center and Ontario-Pacific Distribution Center.

With 91,000 acres, A&B is Hawai'i's fifth-largest private landowner.