Duke Advances SoCal Push With Spec Projects

Duke Realty Corp. is set to bring 1.5 million square feet of industrial space to Southern California. The company has broken ground on six speculative developments in the Inland Empire and Orange County, just as demand for industrial space in the region is peaking. 

All the facilities are designed to meet LEED certification standards and will feature 32 to 36-foot clear heights, as well as ample office space. Duke Realty’s Collin Phillips and Jake Smith are handling leasing at the new locations.

The largest project is a logistics center in San Bernardino. The property will encompass two buildings at 1865 and 1861 Mountain View Ave., spanning 304,262 and 114,057 square feet, respectively. Plans call for more than 3,000 square feet of office space and 185-foot truck courts at each location. The development site is just off Interstate 10, some 75 miles east of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

The other projects are:

• a 330,735-square-foot building at 23840 Rider St. in Riverside County. The location will feature 7,048 square feet of office space, 41 dock doors and two drive-in doors.
• a 187,520-square foot building in Orange County. The building is taking shape on 8.7 acres at 2872 E. La Palma Ave. in Anaheim. The development will feature 6,132 square feet of office space and 19 dock-high loading doors.
• a 194,595-square-foot building at 16225 Slover Ave. in Fontana. Property specs include a 7,183-square-foot office area, 184-foot truck court, 29 dock-high doors, two grade-level loading doors and 37 trailer parking stalls
• a 193,077-square foot building at 16171 Slover Ave. in Fontana. The warehouse will have 187-foot truck court, 6,630-square-foot, two-story office space, 25 dock-high doors and 38 trailer parking stalls.
• a 148,078-square-foot building under development on 7.2 acres at 131 Perry St. in Perris. Plans call for a build-to-suit office area with 3,000 square feet of mezzanine and 25 dock-high doors.

Additionally, the company is set to open a 4.7-acre trailer drop lot near Los Angeles, at 2801 Lynwood Road. The property is designed to accommodate 139 trailers.

Demand pushes construction

Duke Realty’s most recent speculative projects should help ease supply chain congestion as demand for distribution centers pushes rents up, Nancy Shultz, the company’s West Region president, said in a prepared statement.

Duke Realty has preleased 11 of its 12 speculative developments in Southern California. The company closed one of the largest transactions December last year. Lecangs, a third-party logistics provider, signed a prelease agreement for a 1.2 million-square-foot facility in the Inland Empire.   

Going into the new year, absorption of industrial space in Southern California was at record highs, the latest CommercialEdge report shows. In December, vacancy in the Inland Empire stood at 0.9 percent, while Orange County also had a tight 3.8 percent rate. As demand skyrockets, developers are scrambling to turn over new supply.

With available land becoming increasingly scarce, investors are looking for alternatives. Last month, a partnership between Link Logistics and Western RealCo paid $62 million for an Inland Empire redevelopment site. The owners have the option of demolishing five existing structures to make room for 300,000 square feet of new development.