Negresco launches with a $20.4M LAX yard - and IOS keeps consolidating

Benjamin Miller launched Negresco Property Group and closed a $20.4M Avis-leased IOS site near LAX, targeting $100M+ in SoCal acquisitions with Open Industrial as co-GP. Also: Denholtz delivers Bridgewater NJ industrial and signs DIGI America, United Rentals posts record Q1 with raised guidance, NAIOP puts IOS consolidation under the microscope, and CanTex declares it's done selling portfolios.

🏢 The Headliner: Negresco Property Group Launches with LAX-Area IOS Buy

Benjamin Miller closed a $20.4 million acquisition of a 3.15-acre, fully leased IOS site at 5721 West 96th Street, minutes from Los Angeles International Airport. The property includes a 32,500-square-foot building and 100,000 square feet of outdoor storage, with Avis as the tenant.

After more than a decade in Southern California industrial - including stints at Hackman Capital Partners and First Industrial Realty Trust - Miller has formally launched Negresco Property Group, a dedicated IOS investment platform. Negresco is targeting acquisitions from $3M to $50M across sites up to 20 acres in SoCal, leveraging Miller's deep local knowledge across L.A., Inland Empire, Orange County, and San Diego. The firm has a strategic co-GP relationship with Open Industrial, whose CEO Michael Rabin is also based in Los Angeles, giving the platform capacity to scale from individual infill sites to portfolios exceeding $100M.

**Transaction Details:**

**Purchase Price:** $20.4 million
**Property:** 5721 West 96th Street, Los Angeles, CA
**Site:** 3.15 acres | 32,500 SF building + 100,000 SF outdoor storage
**Tenant:** Avis (fully leased)
**Buyer Lead:** Benjamin Miller, Founder, Negresco Property Group
**Co-GP Partner:** Michael Rabin, CEO, Open Industrial
**Seller:** Not yet disclosed
**Broker / Deal Team:** Not yet disclosed

Miller previously founded 5-Ronin, sold a $100M IOS portfolio, and oversaw industrial acquisitions at Hackman Capital Partners including Manhattan Beach Studios and Culver Studios. The LAX-adjacent submarket is one of the tightest infill logistics corridors on the West Coast, and Avis-leased sites with functional service buildings and yard space are rare.

🔥 Other Deals That Closed (April 21-24)

Bridgewater, NJ: Denholtz Delivers Northpark, Signs DIGI America

Denholtz completed Northpark at Bridgewater, a 73,429-square-foot Class-A industrial redevelopment at 1488 Route 22 in Somerset County. The building features 36-foot clear heights, 12 tailboard docks, a drive-in door, and more than 100 parking spaces, with direct frontage on Route 22 and proximity to I-78 and I-287. DIGI America, a provider of supermarket scales, automated wrapping machines, and retail packaging systems for Costco and Walmart, leased 21,017 square feet as the building's first tenant.

**Property:** 1488 Route 22, Bridgewater, NJ
**Building:** 73,429 SF Class-A industrial
**Leased:** 21,017 SF to DIGI America
**Clear Height:** 36 feet
**Developer / Landlord:** Denholtz (privately held investment management firm, Red Bank, NJ)
**Landlord Rep:** Jordan Zimmel, Vice President, Zimmel Associates
**Tenant Rep:** Linda Hill, Vice President, Colliers
**Landlord Leasing Lead:** Kristine B. Hurlbut, SVP of Leasing, Denholtz

📊 Market Intel: IOS Consolidation Accelerates

NAIOP's Spring 2026 magazine published a deep feature on IOS market consolidation, with key data points from multiple industry leaders:

**Market Snapshot (Spring 2026):**

**IOS Market Size:** $200B (top 30 MSAs) to $300B (top 48 MSAs), says Tom Barbera, CEO of Industrial Outdoor Ventures
**Institutional Ownership:** Only 7-10% of IOS is controlled by institutional investors - vast majority still in mom-and-pop hands
**Rent Growth Since 2020:** IOS rents up 123% - more than twice the rate of bulk warehouses
**National Acreage:** 1.4 million acres nationwide (approximately the size of Delaware)
**Cap Rates:** Primary markets 6.00-6.75%, secondary markets 6.75-7.75%
**Transaction Volume 2025:** $14-16B, up 15-20% YoY
**Institutional Share of Acquisitions:** 35-45% in 2025, up from 25-30%

**Key Voices:**

**Tom Barbera, CEO, Industrial Outdoor Ventures:** "It's got great fundamentals" - high barriers to entry, limited supply, properties turn over infrequently, communities are averse to new IOS
**Jay Malhan, VP Acquisitions, CanTex Capital:** CanTex sold an 8-property IOS portfolio to Stockbridge in October and now says "that will probably be our last IOS portfolio sale" - fundamentals are too strong to sell
**Sam Dragan, First VP, CBRE:** "They're really the backbone of the supply chain, these properties that were overlooked 10 years ago"
**Vytas Norusis, Partner Valuation Advisors:** "In the past year, we've worked on almost 300 IOS appraisals for Blackstone and some of the largest institutional lenders"

📈 Operating Context

United Rentals Posts Record Q1 2026: $4B Revenue, Raises Guidance

United Rentals (NYSE: URI) reported record Q1 2026 results on April 22, with total revenue of $3.985B (+7.2% YoY), rental revenue of $3.419B (+8.7% YoY), and adjusted EPS of $9.71 (beating consensus by roughly $0.75). Adjusted EBITDA hit a Q1 record of $1.759B at a 44.1% margin. Fleet productivity increased 2.3% YoY. The company raised full-year 2026 guidance: total revenue now $16.9B-$17.4B, adjusted EBITDA $7.625B-$7.875B.

**CEO Matthew Flannery:** "The increases to our full-year guidance are supported by the momentum we are carrying into our busy season and the growth opportunities our customers see on the horizon, particularly within large projects and key verticals."

**Practical takeaway:** Equipment rental demand is a direct leading indicator for IOS utilization - fleets need yards to park and service the gear. United Rentals' raised capex guidance ($4.4B-$4.8B gross fleet spend) signals that more equipment is entering the field, and every unit needs a home base.

Industrial Vacancy Has Likely Peaked: Q1 2026 Data

The latest industrial market data signals that U.S. industrial vacancy has moved past its cyclical peak, ending Q1 at 7.0% (10 basis points below the Q3 2025 peak). Net absorption hit 40M SF, up 52% YoY - the strongest Q1 since 2023. New supply slowed 27% YoY to 54M SF, the lowest quarterly total since mid-2017. Annual asking rent growth strengthened to 2.1%, up from 1.1% at year-end 2025. Inland markets captured over 90% of Q1 net absorption, led by DFW, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Charlotte.

**Practical takeaway:** Slowing supply plus steady demand means IOS sites in infill logistics corridors are about to get even tighter. The 7.0% overall industrial vacancy masks much lower availability for functional IOS with yard components - expect continued rent compression for well-located outdoor storage.

CanTex Says No More Portfolio Sales: The Long-Term Hold Thesis for IOS

CanTex Capital VP of Acquisitions Jay Malhan made a notable declaration: after selling an 8-property IOS portfolio to Stockbridge Capital Group in October, "that will probably be our last IOS portfolio sale." The reasoning: IOS sites are "incredibly rare" and "a lot of work to aggregate," with fundamentals so strong that long-term holding now outweighs the disposition premium. CanTex is now developing spec IOS on 3-5 acre sites in DFW, with three under construction and 14 in predevelopment.

**Practical takeaway:** When a vertically integrated IOS operator with 46 acquisitions in a single year stops selling, it tells you where they think values are heading. For brokers, this means fewer portfolio disposition mandates and more single-asset trades. For buyers, it means the best assets may require off-market sourcing rather than competitive portfolio processes.

🏗️ Adjacent Industrial (IOS-Relevant)

Rexford Industrial Q1 2026: $127.4M in Dispositions, Orange County Land Sale at $56/SF Land

Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE: REXR) reported Q1 2026 results on April 23, including $127.4M in dispositions across five properties (314,693 SF). Subsequent to quarter end, Rexford sold 423-424 Berry Way in Brea (Orange County-North submarket) for $16.5M at $56 per land square foot - a 6.8-acre site sold vacant to a merchant builder. The disposition preserves approximately $31M in capital spend that was earmarked for development. Rexford also has approximately $170M in dispositions under contract or accepted offer, including three properties from its near-term development pipeline.

**IOS angle:** When a SoCal industrial REIT sells development-stage land at $56/SF to merchant builders instead of building out, it signals that the highest and best use for infill industrial land in Orange County may not be traditional warehouse development. For IOS operators, these merchant builders could become landlords offering functional yard-plus-building configurations.

👥 People Moves

Negresco Property Group Launches with Benjamin Miller at the Helm

**Benjamin Miller** founded Negresco Property Group as a dedicated IOS investment platform in Southern California, after previously founding 5-Ronin (where he sold a $100M IOS portfolio) and overseeing industrial acquisitions at Hackman Capital Partners and First Industrial Realty Trust. Negresco has a strategic co-GP relationship with **Michael Rabin**, CEO of Open Industrial, based in Los Angeles. The platform is targeting $100M+ in acquisitions across L.A., Inland Empire, Orange County, and San Diego over the next two years.

**Deal Size Target:** $3M to $50M per acquisition; sites up to 20 acres; 30% coverage or less