American Pays $101M For 1M-SF Biz Center

ONTARIO, CA-American Realty Advisors has acquired the 1.1-million-sf Safari Business Center, one of the Inland Empire’s largest industrial developments, from Nevada-based entrepreneur Carl Ross. Terms of the deal were undisclosed, but industry sources tell GlobeSt.com that the deal closed at around $101 million.

The property is a 16-building, multitenant project near the intersection of the 60 and 15 freeways, part of one of the region’s and the nation’s largest concentrations of modern industrial warehouse space. The Safari Business Park’s class A distribution buildings are situated on more than 25 acres and were developed in phases with building completions from 1989 to 1998.

The property derives its name from its safari theme, including giraffe and elephant statues, game imprints as trim on building walls, and approximately 700 palm trees of various species around the perimeter. That theme, in turn, reflects the interests of developer Ross, who travels on safaris and owns a wine label names Safari.

Ross has also developed a 250,000-sf industrial park near Las Vegas that bears the Safari Business Park name and is now working on a 300,000-sf second phase of that project.