Limoneira Peels Off Santa Maria Property for $2.9 Million

Limoneira Co. has sold a non-core real estate asset called the Terraces at Pacific Crest in Santa Maria for $2.9 million. The transaction closed Oct. 4. Santa Paula-based Limoneira is a citrus producer with related agribusiness activities and real estate development operations. Terraces is a multifamily housing development with 112 units on 8 acres at the southwest corner of West Battles Road and South Depot Street in Santa Maria. “We are pleased with the terms of the sale of our Terraces property, which is in line with our long-term strategy to monetize our portfolio of non-core real estate assets,” Chief Executive Harold Edwards said in a statement. “As with prior sales of non-core assets, we will use the cash generated by the sale to pay down debt and to invest in the growth of core our agribusiness.” The company will record a gain of approximately $400,000 in its fourth fiscal quarter of 2019. Limoneira is a 126-year-old international agribusiness and a leading producer of lemons, avocados, oranges, specialty citrus and other crops. It owns portfolio of some 15,700 acres of agricultural land, real estate properties and water rights located in the states of California and Arizona and in the countries of Chile and Argentina. Shares of Limoneira (LMNR) closed Thursday down 16 cents, or a fraction of a percent, to $18.43 on the Nasdaq.