Robotics and AI innovator Machina Labs has expanded its local footprint with the signing of a five-year lease for a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing warehouse in Chatsworth.
Machina Labs, which was founded in 2019, enables rapid iteration and swift production to accelerate the design, engineering and innovation of products for industries including aerospace, automotive and defense.
The new space, at 20559 Prairie St., will allow the company to expand its manufacturing facility, which, according to the firm, will support a nearly threefold increase in production.
“With increased customer demand for our agile manufacturing platform, finding our next foothold location that would support our rapid company expansion plans was critical,” said Edward Mehr, chief executive and cofounder of Machina Labs.
Lee & Associates Los Angeles North and Ventura principals Erica Balin and Scott Caswell represented Machina Labs in the transaction. The landlord is Lainer Investments.
“After an extensive search, we were able to identity 20559 Prairie St., which not only offers a well-designed, high cube space that has 100% HVAC, but also includes all the necessary amenities – including heavy power, with the cost-effective ability to increase to a higher voltage – which is a requirement for advanced manufacturing companies like Machina Labs,” Balin said. “It is the perfect solution to finding the expansion location for one of the industry’s truly innovative companies, especially in the tight industrial market here in the San Fernando Valley.”
The San Fernando Valley and Ventura County market boasts an industrial vacancy rate of 1.5%, according to Colliers. Machina Labs is expected to move into the property in the second quarter. – BRYNN SHAFFER
STORAGE BUYS
Public Storage is looking to continue the momentum it achieved last year.
The Glendale-based self-storage real estate investment trust set new milestones in properties owned and its customer count, numbers bolstered significantly by the company’s largest-ever acquisition. Traders largely responded in kind, with share prices closing out last year at $305, an increase of 14% from the start of that year.
“2023 was a year of significant achievement for Public Storage amidst a competitive industry environment,” said Chief Executive Joe Russell Jr. during a year-end financials call last month. “The team elevated our customer experience and financial profile through digital and operating model transformation, enhanced existing properties with over 500 solar installations and the Property of Tomorrow program, advanced complementary business lines – including tenant reinsurance and third-party management – and grew the portfolio through acquisitions, development and redevelopment.”
Public Storage last year added 1.7 million rentable square feet with 11 new facilities, to the tune of $363 million; five of those facilities were opened in the fourth quarter. The company also purchased 37 other self-storage facilities, adding 2.7 million rentable square feet, for $437 million. More importantly, it added 152 new facilities with a $2.2 billion acquisition of Florida-based Simply Self Storage in September; 127 units are company-owned and the rest belong to third parties but are under its management.
That deal, which added 9.4 million rentable square feet to the portfolio, helped rescue share prices, which by then had fallen to their low point of the year.
Public Storage closed out 2023 with $4.52 billion in revenue, which massaged out to a net income of $2.2 billion. It also finished with more than $370 million in cash.
“Public Storage has one of the strongest balance sheets in the sector, with adequate liquidity to withstand any challenges and bank on expansion opportunities through acquisitions and developments,” read a report from Zacks Equity Research. “The company maintains a strong financial profile characterized by solid credit metrics, including low leverage relative to its total capitalization and operating cash flows.”
The company made other quality-of-life improvements last year. In September, it launched an in-house insurance program offering customers protection against loss or damage. It also began construction on 133 rooftop solar panel projects in Maryland, New Jersey and Illinois that will allow local residents to buy electricity generated from panels on Public Storage facilities at significant discounts.
It wasn’t all roses last year, however. Buffalo, New York-based Life Storage Inc. rejected an all-stock purchase proposal by Public Storage, on the basis that the deal undervalued the competitor company.
For this year, Chief Financial Officer Tom Boyle told investors he was more encouraged than he was at this point last year and expected comparable revenues. He added that Public Storage anticipated $500 million in acquisitions this year on top of $450 million in new development – a record for the company.
However, Zacks Equity cautioned in its report that Public Storage – which ended last year with $9.1 billion in debt – could fall victim to sclerotic construction costs and interest rates with this long-term development.
“Though (the developments are) encouraging, the substantial pipeline exposes the company to rising construction costs and lease-up concerns. Self-storage spaces are not usually pre-leased and new assets generally take time to generate yields,” the report added. “A high interest rate is a concern for Public Storage. Elevated rates imply higher borrowing costs for the company, affecting its ability to purchase or develop real estate.” – ZANE HILL
ImmPACT BIO Gets $8M
West Hills-based ImmPACT Bio USA Inc. has received an $8 million award from California’s stem cell research agency to fund ongoing clinical trial research for the company’s drug to treat certain types of lupus.
The award from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, went to a research team at ImmPACT led by Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Benjamin. It was one of two awards from the agency in its most recent funding round for further research into drugs to treat lupus; the other similar-sized award went to a researcher from San Diego-based Fate Therapeutics Inc.
ImmPACT Bio’s drug uses immune cells extracted from a patient and then re-engineered to better treat specific types of cancers or other diseases, a process known as CAR T-cell therapy.
This drug targets two types of lupus: one known as systemic lupus erythematosus that is the most common form of the disease and the other a variant that resists a common treatment. The drug, known by the placeholder name of IMPT-514, has received fast-track designation from the Food and Drug Administration. It is currently in an early-phase clinical trial. ImmPACT Bio will use the funds to help expedite the clinical trial process.
“We are extremely grateful that CIRM has recognized the scientific merit and technical feasibility of our clinical trial evaluating IMPT-514 for the treatment of both LN and SLE,” Johnson said in the company’s announcement of the stem cell agency award. “Lupus is a debilitating, multi-organ disease that primarily affects women, often in young adulthood. There is a critical unmet medical need for well-tolerated therapies that offer improved efficacy and durable disease remission.” – Howard Fine
Zest AI Adds New Tool
Burbank-based Zest AI, an artificial intelligence developer for lenders, rounded out the first quarter of this year with several new developments.
At the end of February, the company debuted a generative AI tool called LuLu, which it says allows lenders to scrape industry and portfolio insights.
The product is currently being piloted by the Tennessee- based ORNL Federal Credit Union and HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union, and pending its beta performance could see a general release by the end of the year.
“Right now, access to lending analysis is complicated, time consuming and often cost prohibitive, which is why LuLu is a game changer,” said Adam Kleinman, head of strategy and client success at Zest AI.
Earlier last month the company brought on a new member to its board.
Rodney E. Hood, the former National Credit Union Administration Board chair, joined the board after almost 20 years at the banking regulatory agency.
Hood has an extensive background in building accountability frameworks for promoting financial inclusion, and cited Zest AI’s advocacy for credit equity through tech as a determining factor in his decision to join the company.
“With its patented technology, proven fair-lending models, regulatory expertise, and mission to drive economic equity, Zest AI is one of the strongest advocates for and solutions to this issue,” Hood said. – Taylor Mills