FREMONT, Calif., Aug. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — In its second major acquisition in less than a month, San Diego-based Westcore Properties announces that it has acquired Kato Industrial Park in Fremont, Calif., for $45.6 million.

Westcore Properties’ purchase of this 673,177-square-foot property, which sits on 41.96 acres, follows its $9.5 million acquisition July 26 of Salt Lake Business Center in the City of Industry, Calif., and boosts the company’s commercial real estate portfolio to 12.7 million square feet.

“This is our largest acquisition this year and represents a tremendous value add opportunity for us,” said Marc Brutten, chairman of Westcore Properties. “The four-building property offers high visibility from Interstate 880 and is in close proximity to the Silicon Valley, San Francisco Peninsula and East Bay markets. We anticipate bringing this exceptional property to fully leased status in a short time-frame. Additionally, the project includes five acres of undeveloped land which gives us room to expand.”

Westcore Properties acquired Kato Industrial Park from New York Life Investments (formerly McMorgan Company), dba LDF1, LLC. Westcore plans to implement a number of capital improvements and upgrades to the project to enhance its marketability. Currently, the property is 62 percent leased to tenants including JC Paper Company, San Francisco Herb & Natural Food Company and Stats ChipPAC Inc.

Kato Industrial Park is located at 47400, 47422, 47444 and 47550 Kato Road. Three of the buildings were built in 1974, with the exception of the 47422 building which was built in 1997. The park includes two distribution buildings (47422 and 47550), one spice plant warehouse and food production facility (47444) and one R&D/office building (47400).

According to Brutten, “The acquisition of Kato Industrial Park is a key milestone in our strategy of aggressively growing our portfolio with infill assets in prime California markets that will benefit from well-positioned multi-tenant industrial and office space options.”

In the transaction, the seller was represented by Darla Longo and Barbara Emmons of CBRE. The buyer, Westcore Properties, dba Westcore Kato, LLC, represented itself. For leasing information on the available 254,563-square-foot distribution building located at 47550 Kato Rd., please contact Victoria Burkheimer at 415-358-5253.

About Westcore Properties
Westcore Properties (www.westcore.net) is a private, entrepreneurial commercial real estate investment firm with a specialized focus in the western United States and key European markets. Since its founding in 2000, Westcore Properties and its affiliates have acquired and managed more than $3.9 billion in industrial and office assets comprised of more than 550 buildings totaling over 26 million square feet. In addition to its U.S. headquarters in San Diego, Westcore Properties has regional offices in San Francisco and Denver. The firm’s European offices are located in Geneva, Switzerland and London, England.

SOURCE Westcore Properties