IRVINE, CALIF. — Smithfield Foods’ former Farmer John Vernon, Calif., plant was purchased by global industrial property firm Goodman Group. 

The roughly 29-acre site includes six buildings for processing, manufacturing and warehousing.

“Due to the scarcity of developable land in the Central LA submarket, industrial land accumulation of this size has not been seen in over ten years,” said Michael Kendall, vice chair at Colliers, the real estate company leading Goodman and Smithfield through the sales process. “This transaction creates a generational opportunity to build one of the most significant industrial facilities in the world.”

The details of the sale were not disclosed to the public.

Smithfield’s Vernon facility was operational from 1931 — when the company purchased the then Clougherty Packing plant from Hormel Foods Corp. — until 2023.

Smithfield announced plans to close the manufacturing site a year ago due to escalating California operations costs. California customers would instead be supplied through existing Farmer John facilities in the Midwest.

When Smithfield announced plans for closure, the company also said it planned to decrease the sow herd in Utah and was considering options for exiting farms in Arizona and California.