Renovated Los Angeles Food Center ready for last-mile service

The Los Angeles Food Center (LAFC), a 267,000-square-foot cold storage facility near the California city’s downtown, has been sold to LBA Realty. This transaction proceeded as part of a joint venture between Dedeaux Properties LLC and global investment manager Barings Real Estate on behalf of an institutional investor.

LAFC is situated on a 10.6-acre site in Vernon, three miles south of downtown Los Angeles in Southern California’s primary food manufacturing and distribution submarket. Within 20 miles of Los Angeles International Airport, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach—and a population of 10.3 million people within a 25-mile radius—the LAFC is an ideal location for last-mile distribution, according to Dedeaux Properties’ President Brett Dedeaux.

“With consumers wanting fresher and higher-quality food, the need for well-located and efficient cold storage is critical to the rapid movement of perishable product,” said Dedeaux. “The size, location and functional layout of the Los Angeles Food Center allow users to streamline the truck loading and off-loading process to expedite last-mile distribution.”

LAFC features more than 192,000 square feet of renovated and fully racked freezer and cooler rooms with clearance heights up to 30 feet, as well as refrigerated dock areas. One of the largest cold storage facilities in Los Angeles, it has 65 dock-high loading positions and deep concrete truck courts of up to 190 feet.

After a multimillion-dollar renovation that included new refrigeration systems, new roof, lighting and 13,232 square feet of modern office space, Dedeaux was able to bring the formerly vacant facility to 100% occupancy. Tenants include Worldwide Produce, Aldays Cold Storage and Jinsunmi International.