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Nature's Best
Corporate Headquarters
Brea, CA

240,000 Square Feet
(Approximately 11 Acres)
6 to 8 Months

OVERVIEW

Nature's Best is the world's largest wholesale distributor of health foods. If you shop in a health food store, you likely consume Nature's Best products.

Nature's Best had outgrown their former company owned headquarters in Torrance, CA, and desired a new location that maximized the cubic capacity, and was designed around their propose racking and material handling equipment. The owners of the company sought a location that was cost effective, designed for maximum productivity, and that was located more centrally for their management team.

The gross consideration of these transactions was near $30,000,000, (Depending upon the rates of CPI for the periodic adjustments).

APPROACH

Patrick O'Healy and one of his former partners at Matlow-Kennedy were retained exclusively by Nature's Best to locate a new facility for the company. The following were some of the steps we took to complete this project in a very satisfactory manner for the client:
• Worked with the material handling engineer to develop a prototypical plan for a building
• Developed size parameters
• Developed loading and circulation requirements
• Developed specifications for sprinkler calculation and power requirements
• Developed an employee residence study to optimize the new location
• Developed a list of existing buildings and possible "build to suit" sites that fit the requirement
• Developed a Request for Proposal format that specified the needs of the client
• Arranged a tour of all the possible facilities
• Developed a reduced list of prospective sites for RFP submission
• Fielded proposals for existing buildings and build to suit
• Did "Lease Analysis" to determine the net present value of every proposal element in year one
• Assisted the client to compare the proposals in NPV format
• Selected the finalists for negotiation
• Negotiated the transaction for a build to suit in Brea

RESULTS

• A ten-year lease was negotiated for the build to suit, which was extended to twenty years
• Costs of a 10,000 square foot refrigerator/freezer were amortized over the life of the lease
• An initial 185,000 square foot building was built, and a few years later, the building was expanded by 55,000 additional square feet
• The new warehouse location was ideally located to be very close to the homes of the management team
• The location selected was over 20% cheaper than the next lowest alternative
• As a result of their high quality, efficient location their business has grown far faster than anticipated.