Alere Breaks Ground on Inland Empire Spec Warehouse

1656 S. Cucamonga. Rendering Courtesy of Alere Property Group.

Alere Property Group is significantly expanding its Southern California portfolio, particularly in the Inland Empire. The developer has broken ground on South Cucamonga Distribution Center, a speculative industrial warehouse in Ontario, Calif. The Class A facility is expected to deliver in the third quarter of this year. NAI Capital is handling leasing efforts.

According to CommercialEdge data, the developer received a $20 million construction loan for the property, provided by Zions Bank.

South Cucamonga Distribution Center will total 210,703 square feet of leasable space, divisible to 105,352 square feet. The warehouse will feature 40-foot clear height, 2,000 Amps of power, 185-foot-deep truck court, ESFR sprinklers, as well as 23 dock-high and two ground-level doors. The build-out will also incorporate a two-story office of 5,000 square feet. The facility will have access to FedEx, UPS and the BNSF Intermodal Rail Yard.

The 9.3-acre development is situated at 1656 S. Cucamonga Ave., an infill location in the Inland Empire’s saturated industrial market. Several major thoroughfares are nearby, including State Routes 60 and 83 and Interstate 10. Ontario International Airport is roughly 2 miles away. Alere also owns the nearby Mildred Distribution Center, an 857,000-square-foot warehouse about a mile away from the current development.

Recent activity

Alere Property Group currently has $500 million in active developments across Southern California. In recent months, the company has expanded its industrial footprint in Orange County as well. In February, Alere acquired a 47,700-square-foot warehouse at 14422 Astronautics Drive in Huntington Beach for $12.6 million, CommercialEdge data shows. In April, the company paid $23 million for a 107,370-square-foot property at 1062 McGaw Ave. in Irvine. Alere intends to redevelop the property, which was owner-occupied.

In addition to South Cucamonga Distribution Center, Alere Property Group is also planning to build Chino Industrial Park and Chino Commerce Park in the Inland Empire, amounting to roughly 630,000 square feet of new industrial development, CommercialEdge data shows.

Southern California markets continue to dominate the industrial sector, despite areas with low land availability and ever-increasing rents. The Inland Empire’s first quarter saw net absorption exceed 10 million square feet, while vacancy dropped to 1.9 percent, Colliers research shows. Demand is high and developers are adding massive projects in areas where land is still available. At the end of the first quarter, 19.5 million square feet of industrial space was underway in the Inland Empire.