CT, Prudential JV to Develop 5 Industrial Buildings in Riverside, Calif.

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

Keith Ross, CT Realty

A new $120 million joint venture between CT Realty, of Aliso Viejo, Calif., and Prudential Real Estate Investors has made its first acquisition, of 13.1 acres of land in Riverside, Calif., where the JV plans to develop five industrial buildings, it was announced Tuesday. Strategically, the JV will focus on developing industrial buildings for sale in Southern California.

The partners acquired the site, at Dan Kipper Drive and Sycamore Canyon Boulevard in the 1,400-acre Sycamore Canyon Business Park, from a major financial institution for an undisclosed sum.

The land sale closed in the third quarter. CT management wanted to clarify their development plans before announcing the land acquisition, Keith Ross, executive vp of development for CT Realty, told Commercial Property Executive.

The parcel reportedly represents one of the few remaining sites available for industrial development in the business park, and the buildings will be the first ground-up industrial buildings to be developed there since 2008.

Frank Geraci and Juan Gutierrez of the Ontario, Calif., office of Voit Real Estate Services represented both CT/Prudential and the seller.

The $25 million CT/Prudential project will comprise five Class A industrial buildings totaling 205,000 square feet and ranging from 35,000 to 65,000 square feet, with dock-high loading and 30-foot clear height for the larger buildings.

The property is already zoned for industrial use and improved with street, utilities, curbs and gutters, and other infrastructure. All five buildings are expected to begin construction in the first quarter of 2015 and be available for sale starting in the fourth quarter.

HPA Architecture of Irvine, Calif., is the architect of record, and DRC Engineering Inc., of Anaheim, Calif., is the civil engineer.

The buildings will be targeted at owner-users that need light manufacturing, assembly, warehouse and/or corporate headquarters space, possibly all at one facility, Ross told CPE.

Vacancy rates in the Inland Empire are at their lowest levels in a decade, Ross said, with virtually no new product built since 2008. “With bank interest rates still at historic lows and readily available SBA financing, this is a great opportunity for those who currently rent to own their facility.”

“Many large development companies have focused on developing big-box industrial buildings, and we think there is a large demand for small buildings for sale to users,” he added.

Going forward, Ross said, the JV’s focus will remain on infill locations within Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire where vacancy rates are extremely low.