Meridian's First Tenant Takes 300,000 SF

RIVERSIDE, CA-McLane Food Services of Texas, one of the country's largest wholesale food distributors, will move its distribution operations from Ontario to a 300,000-sf facility the company plans to develop at LNR Property Corp.'s 1,000-acre Meridian development at the former March Air Force Base. McLane, the first tenant at the new project, closed on the acquisition of the 29-acre development parcel in December. The Meridian development, on western portion of the former March Air Force Base, will occupy a parcel at the corner of Meridian Parkway and Innovation Drive. The new facility will include freezer space, cool space and a dry storage area, with more than 15,000 sf offices and a truck maintenance facility. McLane is expected to bring more than 300 jobs with the move and to hire additional workers as needed as the new facility expands. Jose Restrepo, a McLane VP, says the company will service its existing and new clients, mainly quick-serve restaurants and convenience stores throughout Southern California and Las Vegas, from the new facility. McLane's facility is being designed by O'Brien & Associates of Dallas and will be constructed by CMT of Addison, TX. The Meridian development is a project of the Commercial Property Group of LNR, which maintains its west region development office in Newport Beach. The master-planned business park along Interstate 215 includes a Foreign Trade Zone, is rail served and is slated as the site of a future Metrolink Station. According to GlobeSt.com reports when the project was announced, Meridian when completed will comprise approximately 16 million sf of commercial and industrial buildings valued in excess of $1 billion. The master planned business community is a joint effort of the developer and the March Joint Powers Authority. In the deal, McLane was represented by Mike Daly of Colliers Seeley International in Ontario and Bob Luttrell of Jackson Cooksey in Dallas. LNR was represented by Walt Chenoweth, Frank Geraci, Art Day and Dan de la Paz of CB Richard Ellis in Ontario.