First Industrial Realty Trust already has industrial land holdings in Inland Southern California and its growth plan includes substantial increases, a company official said Wednesday.
Senior Vice President Phil Bowman said the company owns between 500 and 600 acres in the area now, including the Perris Ranch Business Park, its first completed Inland development, which opened this spring.
The company, a provider of diversified industrial real estate, plans to acquire as much as 1,100 additional acres in the Inland region and Florida, although it would not discuss the breakdown.
Bowman said the Chicago-based First Industrial has several reasons for expecting the Inland area to be a good place to own land in the future.
He said the area can expect continued population growth, more cargo volume passing through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and commitments from local governments to improve highway and rail infrastructure.
He said the company expects the best locations to be along Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County, in the Moreno Valley/Perris area, and along Interstate 10 east of Yucaipa.
“We’ll continue to search for well-located, well-priced property,” he said.
First Industrial will break ground next month on the 1.19 million-square-foot Nandina Distribution Center in Moreno Valley and the 355,000-square-foot Rider Street Distribution Center in Perris.
The company has also announced that it will expand into The Netherlands and Belgium, and that it has started a joint venture with UBS Wealth Management.
Reach Rodd Cayton at 951-368-9412 or rcayton (at) PE (dot) com
RODD CAYTON, The Press-Enterprise
