The $35-million first phase will consist of a 530,000-sf building with 120 docks, 32-foot clear height and parking for 90 truck trailers and 348 vehicles. The triple-net asking lease rate is expected to be in the low-to-mid $0.30s per sf for a large user, somewhat more for a smaller user.

"The large tenant activity has been strong in the marketplace," McShane's Irvine, CA-based VP Jon Dobrott tells GlobeSt.com. "Our park is right next to an 800,000-sf Long's Drugs warehouse-distribution center and a 400,000-sf Kohl's distribution facility."

Long's Drugs, Kohl's and McShane all acquired their land from Keystone Corp., a North Carolina company that master planned a 350-acre tract of land here an called it Keystone Pacific Park. The sale of 122 acres to McShane leaves only a couple of smaller parcels at Keystone Pacific, giving McShane a good shot at landing the next large user to come along.

To that end, McShane and MetLife are developing the first phase on a speculative basis. The remaining land is available for build-to-suit deals. "I see this as a five-year project," Dobrott says.

McShane Construction's Irvine, California office together with project architect, Ware Malcomb, is providing comprehensive design/build construction services for the project. Kevin Dal Porto, Blake Rasmussen, Dave Haggerty and Doug Norton with CB Richard Ellis in Stockton have the marketing assignment.