CT Realty and PGIM Real Estate Break Ground on Major Logistics Center in Southern California
Sep 22, 2020
5 mins
CT Realty, in a joint venture with PGIM Real Estate, announces the development of Agua Mansa Commerce Park, a state-of-the-art multi-building logistics project in the heart of Southern California’s renowned Inland Empire industrial market. The fully entitled 4.4 million-square-foot project has undergone significant predevelopment by CT Realty, who will begin sitework immediately and plans shell completion of the first buildings by Summer 2021. PGIM Real Estate has invested in the development on behalf of institutional investors in its U.S. core plus equity fund.
“Developing a project of this magnitude on a spec basis speaks volumes to the confidence we have in the market, the project and the location,” said Carter Ewing, managing partner at CT. “We are fortunate to have the strongest industrial market in the U.S. right here in Southern California, and consistent with what we are seeing in most major markets we operate in across the country, we expect to see tremendous interest in this massive development. We are also extremely privileged to have the strong support of the talented real estate team at PGIM Real Estate behind us.”
The 206-acre project is CT’s third project to be developed with PGIM Real Estate in the past three years. CT and PGIM Real Estate completed a 13-building development in Southern California just over one year ago and are breaking ground on the third phase of their 3 million-square-foot Palmetto Logistics Park in the greater Atlanta market. Agua Mansa Commerce Center is in Jurupa Valley at the epicenter of the vast Inland Empire logistics infrastructure, providing immediate distribution access to 25 million people throughout Southern California.
“The combination of the project’s proximity to the most active port complex in the U.S. coupled with our enormous consumer base is uniquely opportune for just about any company in the logistical supply chain,” added Ewing. “We will soon deliver state-of-the-art buildings that are ideal for goods distribution throughout the U.S. and regionally.”
The City of Jurupa Valley, the County of Riverside and a host of complimentary regulatory agencies have fully approved the project. CT will soon begin demolition of the former Riverside Cement factory, under strict environmental oversight, and will spend the next six months razing the property and preparing for vertical development.
“We are grateful to all that have participated in the land procurement and entitlement process and look forward to satisfying corporate America’s distribution needs as this port-centric market continues to grow,” added Ewing. Although CT Realty is actively developing large-scale industrial parks in several markets across the U.S., the principals at CT have over 30 years of development experience in the Inland Empire, a key factor in the group’s successful procurement of this project.
Agua Mansa Commerce Center features three buildings over 1 million square feet in a cross-dock design with 40-foot clear height, plus two buildings with approximately 200,000 square feet each and 32-foot clearance designed for regional last-mile distribution users.
E-commerce sales, an already strong and growing demand driver for industrial distribution space, have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic and are estimated to grow by 18% this year, the highest year over year increase on record according to eMarketer. E-commerce growth has reshaped industrial demand for the last several years and places a premium on infill sites within densely populated areas.
The joint venture between CT and PGIM Real Estate purchased the site from Crestmore Development and Riverside Cement Corporation at an undisclosed price. CBRE represented the sale, led by Darla Longo, Barbara Emmons Perrier and Dan De La Paz.