Westcore Properties has inked a 10-year lease for its entire 94,875-square-foot warehouse development project currently under construction at 126 E. Oris Street in Compton, Calif. with Bay-area vertical indoor farming company Plenty Unlimited.
Scheduled for completion in November 2019, Westcore’s Class A building’s ceilings soar to 32 feet, a good match for the vertical rows of sustainably grown, leafy greens, like kale, Plenty will cultivate at the property.
“We are thrilled about the partnership with Westcore and the City of Compton to have our first Southern California farm in this state-of-the-art building,” said Camille Bamford, Business Development Director for Plenty. “The project fulfilled everything we were looking for – with its functional size as well as its design, location, community and proximity to consumers throughout all of greater Los Angeles.”
Plenty will hire local employees from Compton and reach out to local schools and the surrounding community to educate people about healthy eating, vertical farming and entering the professional field of sustainable farming.
Westcore is no stranger to working with companies driving the revolution in sustainability, having provided space for Impossible Foods, Tesla and others previously.
“Westcore is excited to support Plenty as the company pioneers how quality produce is grown,” said Lauren Suazo, Director of Leasing, with Westcore Properties. “Plenty is a highly innovative and extremely well-run company. Through our marketing process, we worked closely with their executive team, tasted their products and are confident they will be successful.”
Plenty will make a multi-million-dollar investment into the build out and technology for the farm at the Compton property. The Plenty growing technique requires a tiny fraction of the water and land of conventional farms and allows plants to grow independent of seasonal or weather variations through use of hydroponics and LED lights. The controlled environment also eliminates the need for pesticides.
Marc Bonando and Brad Connors of Kidder Mathews represented Westcore in the lease agreement, while Zack Jamail and David Gordon of Savills, Inc. represented Plenty.
About Westcore Properties
Westcore Properties is a global, entrepreneurial commercial real estate investment firm with a specialized focus on industrial properties in the United States. Since its founding in 2000, Westcore Properties and its affiliates have acquired and managed more than $5 billion in industrial and office assets, comprised of more than 1200 buildings and totaling over 50 million square feet. In 2018, National Real Estate Investor ranked Westcore properties as one of the Top 50 owners of industrial real estate globally. In addition to its U.S. headquarters in San Diego, Westcore Properties has regional offices in Los Angeles; Oakland; and Sacramento, as well as satellite offices in London, England; Berlin, Germany; and Vienna, Austria.