Online Shopping Pushes Inland Empire East Logistics Development
Shopoff Realty has broken ground on a 1.8 million-square-foot logistics center in the I-10 Corridor.
In a joint venture with Artemis Real Estate Partners, Shopoff Realty Investments has broken ground on a 1.8 million-square-foot industrial property in the 1-10 Corridor area of the Inland Empire East. The property will aim to target online shopping users, which have seen increased business during the pandemic.
Known as the I-10 Logistics Center, the property will include an 811,000-square-foot warehouse building and a 1 million square foot building. Both buildings will feature 40-foot clear-height ceilings, 300 dock-high roll-up doors and 519 trailer parking spots, and the property is being designed to LEED Silver certification. The property totals 240 acres with only 155 acres utilized for the development. Shopoff plans to donate the remaining 85 acres to Rivers and Lands Conservancy as permanently conserved open space.
The Inland Empire East has been a frontier for industrial development for the last several years. In 2019, developers started to push further east when the Inland Empire West industrial market hit a 2% vacancy rate. At the time, the Inland Empire East had a construction pipeline of 14 million square feet. In an interview, Patrick Wood, managing director at JLL, told GlobeSt.com that many considered the Inland Empire West an infill market because it was so densely built out. Today, Shopoff president and CEO William Shopoff says that the market is already supply constrained, and this new project will help to fill heavy demand from online shopping companies.
Overall, the Inland Empire—both East and West—continues to lead the country for industrial activity. Last year, the market had record absorption rates. A report from JLL showed an impressive 26 million square feet of absorption in 2020 with activity surging at the end of the year. In addition, CBRE ranked the Inland Empire and Phoenix as markets for major industrial deals, defined as deals over 1 million square feet in size last year.
Industrial isn’t the only asset class attracting capital and development. All of the industrial activity—which has created jobs and fueled economic growth—has also generated demand for single-family housing. Developers like Brookfield Residential are very bullish. Brookfield alone has several master plan developments in the market, including New Haven in Ontario, Audie Murphy Ranch in Menifee and Spencer’s Crossing in Murrieta.
Shopoff’s I-10 Logistics Center should open its doors in the summer of 2022.