The West Sussex Portfolio in Fresno, a five-building industrial property totaling 73,911 square feet, sold for $6.9 million to San Francisco Bay Area investor Nima Gabbay. Photo courtesy of Marcus & Millichap

The 73,911-square-foot West Sussex Portfolio includes five industrial buildings on three parcels and was purchased by a San Francisco Bay Area investor.

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A five-building industrial portfolio in Fresno has sold for $6.9 million to a San Francisco Bay Area investor making his first investment in the Fresno market, according to a news release from Marcus & Millichap.

The West Sussex Portfolio totals 73,911 square feet across three parcels. Marcus & Millichap announced the transaction Aug. 31.

Making a deal

Russ Moroz, managing director investments, and Tino Foondos, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Sacramento office, represented the seller, described in the release as a local firm with longstanding ties to the Fresno area.

The brokers also procured the buyer, Nima Gabbay, a San Francisco Bay Area investor.

Gabbay, 51, is a real estate investor and developer who recently drew attention in San Francisco for offering to accept shares of artificial intelligence companies OpenAI or Anthropic as payment for a home he was selling, according to The New York Times. The three-bedroom home was listed for $2.9 million, and Gabbay told the Times that two OpenAI employees approached him with offers involving company shares.

Gabbay ultimately accepted an offer from another buyer who worked in technology, with the terms undisclosed, according to the Times. The episode came amid intense competition in San Francisco’s residential market tied in part to expectations of wealth generated by artificial intelligence companies.

Welcome to Fresno

According to Marcus & Millichap, Gabbay purchased the Fresno industrial property as part of a 1031 exchange following the sale of an apartment property in San Francisco.

“This transaction demonstrates our ability to bring investment capital from outside the market and across property types,” Moroz said in the release. “The buyer, a longtime client completing a 1031 exchange following the sale of a San Francisco apartment property, recognized the opportunity to make a strategic first investment in the Fresno market, which continues to show resilience.”

Marcus & Millichap said the portfolio was built in 1971 and consists of five buildings.

Why it matters

The transaction brings an investor from outside the Central Valley into Fresno’s small-bay industrial real estate market.

Moroz said the deal reflects investor interest in small-bay industrial properties, including those in secondary and tertiary markets.

The buyer has a history of improving underperforming properties and plans a series of improvements at the Fresno property as part of a value-add strategy, according to the brokerage.