HRL Laboratories Acquires Thousand Oaks Industrial Property for $40M

Another day, another pricey Southern California industrial deal. Research lab HRL Laboratories has purchased an industrial property in Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County, for $39.75 million. The property, which sits on more than 5 acres, is just off U.S. Route 101 and roughly 17 miles from the General Motors- and Boeing-owned lab's Malibu headquarters. 'High construction costs translate to significant value for buildings with existing infrastructure, and we can expect to see continued demand into 2023 and beyond. North/Ventura' region pegged the industrial vacancy rate at just 1.8 percent -- a full percentage point below the 2.8 percent in the second quarter and 'the largest quarter-over-quarter fluctuation ever recorded in the market,' according to the brokerage. The area has particularly attracted established and emerging biotech and life sciences companies, with the likes of biopharmaceutical giant Amgen based in Thousand Oaks. On a per-square-foot basis, the 3500 Willow Lane deal is pricier than Blackstone-owned Link Logistics' $29.3 million purchase this fall of an 82,200-square-foot warehouse in Montebello, which clocked in at around $356 per square foot -- nearly three times the national average for industrial space. And earlier this week, real estate and construction firm J.F. Shea Company reportedly acquired a City of Industry warehouse for nearly $18 million -- a below-market price, according to CoStar, which first reported the news. Among the lab's most notable achievements were the invention of the world's first laser in 1960.