Seafood wholesaler readies southwest valley warehouse for business

A Philadelphia seafood wholesaler has invested in new warehouse space in the valley.

Samuels & Son Seafood still has construction work before becoming operational at its industrial building at 5945 W. Wigwam Ave., near the intersection with Jones Boulevard.

“Things are moving,” owner Sam D’Angelo Jr. said. “This will let us store inventory to better serve our customers in Vegas.”

His company has been actively delivering seafood in the valley since around 2011. Samuels delivers from New York to Virginia and out to Pittsburgh. The company is also expanding into Florida.

D’Angelo joined the family business at age 10 working in this grandfather’s fish market. His own children joined the company about 10 years ago. The business includes retail fish store Ippolito’s and the wholesaler Samuels.

The company received a construction permit in January for $655,000 worth of architectural, mechanical, plumbing and structural work on the warehouse, according to county records.

Samuels bought the property for $845,000 in August, according to county records.

California-based real estate investor and manager MCA Reality owns two other buildings in the park up for sale, said Chris Lane, a senior associate in Colliers International’s industrial division. Lane and his team represented the landlord in the sale to Samuels. MCA bought the industrial park in default.

The local industrial market has picked up in recent years, Lane said. He credits an unfreezing of projects since the recession and construction of large buildings to fit tenants interested in the Las Vegas Valley.

Colliers data for the fourth quarter of 2016 shows industrial vacancy in the valley at its lowest point since 2006. The rate peaked in the third quarter of 2010 at 14.4 percent. It was 5.3 percent in the last quarter of 2016.

The rate may rise this year due to new projects under development, according to the Colliers data. In 2018, the valley will see a period of filling newly developed warehouses and distribution centers.

Vacancy rates for incubator and flex space remain too high at 8.3 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, for new development this year.

The valley has recently gained new online warehousing operations from the likes of Bed Bath & Beyond, Fanatics and Amazon.

“It’s good to see these large companies land in Las Vegas,” he said. “We’re used to them going to Phoenix, to San Bernardino.”

Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4602. Follow @wademillward on Twitter.