Three Practitioners. One Shared Mission.
We built this team around a simple idea: industrial real estate decisions are too important to be handled by generalists. Every member of Smith Industrial Partners brings specialized expertise and a commitment to long-term client relationships.
Built on Expertise. Driven by Relationships.
Smith Industrial Partners was founded on the belief that industrial real estate brokerage needed to evolve. Too many deals are done on square footage and asking rents alone, without any understanding of the supply chain those buildings serve. We set out to change that.
Based at Lee & Associates in Irvine, California, our team has executed deals in 104 cities across 20 states, with the deepest expertise in the Western U.S. We've built our practice around long-term advisory relationships, not one-off transactions. Many of our clients have trusted us for over a decade across multiple deals and markets.
What makes us different is how we think. We approach every engagement through both a real estate lens and a supply chain lens. That dual perspective, backed by 22+ years of experience and graduate-level supply chain education, means our clients get better analysis, better strategy, and better outcomes.
Justin Smith
Justin founded Smith Industrial Partners with a vision to bring supply chain intelligence to industrial real estate brokerage. With 22+ years of experience and over 700 assignments nationally totaling more than $700 million in deal value and 10 million+ square feet, he has established himself as one of the most specialized industrial brokers in the Western U.S.
What sets Justin apart is the rare combination of street-level deal experience and academic depth. He holds an MBA and Master of Real Estate Development from USC, the SIOR designation (held by roughly 4,000 brokers worldwide), the MCR certification, and holds a Master's in Supply Chain Management from the University of Arkansas, one of the top-ranked programs in the country.
This dual expertise means Justin doesn't just find buildings - he understands how those buildings fit into his clients' broader operations. From warehouse throughput and WMS requirements to 3PL dynamics and nearshoring strategy, he brings an operational fluency that traditional brokers simply don't have.
Justin has negotiated against every major institutional landlord in the Western U.S. - Prologis, Blackstone, GLP, Rexford, Brookfield, and the Irvine Company - and also represents landlords, giving him a uniquely informed perspective on both sides of the table. He is the author of Industrial Intelligence and Industrial Income, and host of the Industrial Insights podcast.
Grant LaBounty
Grant LaBounty brings deep market knowledge and client dedication to every engagement. A UC Santa Barbara graduate, Grant interned under Justin before joining the team full-time, giving him a foundation in the supply chain-first approach that defines the Smith Industrial Partners practice.
Focused on logistics, warehouse, and industrial clients across Southern California's Mid Counties, Grant has developed a reputation for responsive service and thorough market intelligence. His clients benefit from his ability to identify opportunities before they hit the broader market and his meticulous approach to transaction management.
Grant's trajectory from intern to Senior Vice President reflects both his talent and his commitment to the industrial real estate discipline. He handles occupier representation and landlord leasing with equal skill, and his growing network of tenant and developer relationships strengthens the team's coverage across Orange County and the greater Southern California market.
Chris Vassilian
Chris Vassilian brings an analytics-driven approach to industrial real estate that complements the team's operational expertise. A UC Irvine graduate in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, Chris holds a Master of Finance from UCI, adding quantitative depth to the team's advisory capabilities.
Chris's primary focus is business development and off-market deal sourcing for industrial developers. His ability to identify opportunities that haven't yet reached the broader market gives Smith Industrial Partners' clients a competitive edge in acquisitions, dispositions, and development partnerships.
With a finance-first mindset and a growing network of developer and investor relationships, Chris adds a layer of analytical rigor to every transaction. His work on investment underwriting and market analysis ensures that the team's recommendations are grounded in data, not just instinct.
Backed by Lee & Associates
The largest broker-owned commercial real estate firm in North America. National reach with local accountability.
Coast-to-coast coverage with local market expertise in every region.
Every principal has equity in their practice. No corporate layers. Direct accountability.
Freedom to specialize and innovate while backed by institutional-grade infrastructure.
"Local Expertise. International Reach. World Class."
Ready to Work with a Different Kind of Team?
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