Why Industrial Developers Are Going Small

Serrano Business Park

Industrial developers in Southern California have focused largely on big-box industrial builds, especially in the Inland Empire. While users of warehouse and distribution center facilities have fueled the industrial activity, demand for last-mile distribution centers has grown, but it has largely been overlooked by developers. Thanks to major growth in the Inland Empire West MSA—which is among the fastest growing metros in the country—there is an even greater demand for small-box industrial that can service the local community. Orange County-based CapRock Partners is fulfilling the demand. The firm is under construction on 1 million square feet of last-mile distribution space, including the Serrano Business Park, a 327,000-square-foot three-building project with units ranging in size from 31,220 to 179,030 square feet. We sat down with Jonathan Pharris, co-founder and president of CapRock Partners, to talk about the firm’s strategy for small-box industrial, its latest project and how the Inland Empire West market is changing.

GlobeSt.com: You have just broken ground on the Serrano Business Park, which is part of a collection of small-box industrial product that you are building in Southern California. Tell me about this development strategy.