Kenneth S. Fields

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Greenberg Glusker Closed Four of the Largest Industrial Real Estate Deals in Southern California in 2020

February 9, 2021Press Release
Los Angeles Business Journal

Los Angeles, CA – Greenberg Glusker, whose representation of industrial real estate investors and developers dates back to the founding of the Firm in 1959, partnered with its clients in closing over $5 billion of industrial real estate transactions in 2020, including four of the largest industrial acquisitions in Southern California.

“The number of deals that closed this year was similar to previous years, but deal sizes were larger,” said partner Kenneth Fields as quoted in the January 11, 2021, Los Angeles Business Journal story on industrial real estate activity, “The Belle of the Ball.” Greenberg Glusker’s significant presence in the Southern California industrial real estate market is evidenced by having handled four of the top ten industrial sales of the year, as identified in LABJ’s accompanying article. Those deals alone totaled nearly $750 million.

Among the many other transactions Fields handled for Rexford Industrial Realty in 2020, Fields helped Rexford acquire: (1) a portfolio of 10 industrial buildings located throughout Southern California for $203.2 million; (2) a portfolio of 18 industrial buildings in Van Nuys for $154.6 million; and (3) the Gateway Pointe Industrial Campus, comprised of four industrial buildings, for a purchase price of $296.6 million. Fields also represented Gautier Land Co, until it became clear that Rexford would be purchasing its six-property portfolio, at which point the Firm’s Managing Partner and partner in the Real Estate Group, Bob Baradaran, stepped in to close that deal for Gautier at a purchase price of $93.8 million.

The firm’s trusted role as legal advisor lies not just on the transactional side of the business, but as general counsel as well. Greenberg Glusker’s real estate attorneys often get involved in business issues before an LOI is signed, through due diligence and deal closing, according to Fields. Fields says, “our clients want to close their deals, and we focus on how to make that happen while minimizing their downside risk.”

The genesis of the firm’s industrial real estate work traces back to Steve Claman, then the firm’s very first associate. Much of his practice was focused on representing owners and developers in the burgeoning LAX industrial market, which included relative newcomer Stuart Klabin, whose The Klabin Company is now one of the top industrial real estate firms in Los Angeles. Claman, himself an industrial real estate investor, also led the Greenberg Glusker team that created the leasing forms and purchase and sales agreements for the Los Angeles Chapter of SIOR.

Greenberg Glusker’s reach goes far beyond the Southern California industrial market. The firm represents companies with a national presence, such as Majestic Realty Co. and Principal Financial Group, in the acquisition, development, financing, leasing and disposition of assets around the country. Select out-of-state industrial transactions in 2020 include representing a developer in 10 different construction loans totaling $332 million for industrial development projects in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Colorado, Texas and California, and representing the seller of industrial complexes in New Jersey and Ohio for $50 million and $32 million, respectively.

“We are the largest single-office law firm in California.  We think this gives us the best of both worlds in that we’re able to provide personal attention similar to a boutique law firm, while at the same time we have a deep bench of attorneys who come out of the same talent pool as large national firms who excel in handling large, complicated transactions” added partner Steven Lurie, who was recently honored by Los Angeles Business Journal as the 2020 real estate lawyer of the year, and by Connect Media as one of the top 50 real estate lawyers in the United States.

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