NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Birtcher Development, a five-generation, California-based industrial real estate development firm, today announced the groundbreaking of Birtcher Oak Valley Commerce Center, a 125-acre ground-up, industrial development in Calimesa, California in the Inland Empire East targeting big box tenants with warehousing and distribution needs.
Birtcher Oak Valley Commerce Center will consist of four Class-A industrial buildings on 125-acres and is strategically located immediately adjacent to the I-10 freeway, where tenants will benefit from prime accessibility and visibility. At a total of 2.2 million square feet, the four state-of-the-art buildings are designed to meet current high demand for logistics facilities throughout Southern California, and will offer 40-foot clear heights, flat floors and a minimum of 185-foot truck courts. Located at Singleton Road and Roberts Road in Calimesa, the site provides an opportunity to meet autonomous trucking needs with immediate freeway access onto its campus, offering transportation firms options to shift to cabs with drivers for urban deliveries.
“We are bullish on the growth in the Oak Valley I-10 Corridor given its strategic location just beyond Redlands and deep untapped labor market; Birtcher Oak Valley Commerce Center is strongly positioned to serve the fast-growing and equally underserved tenant demand,” said Brooke Birtcher Gustafson, managing director, Birtcher Development. “This unique 125-acre campus opportunity is anticipated to draw long-term corporate credit tenants that will considerably benefit the City and community of Calimesa.”
With the Inland Empire and Los Angeles submarkets currently realizing historically low big box vacancy rates, tenants are looking toward the Inland Empire East for its availability of product, and landlords for the development and investment potential of its available land. Interstate-10, which provides immediate access to Birtcher Oak Valley Commerce Center, consistently ranks among the most widely utilized freeways in Southern California with an average of 375,000 vehicles per day, according to 2019 CalTrans data. Additionally, the BNSF Intermodal, which serves as a predominant inbound container hub for the region, is just minutes west of Birtcher Oak Valley Commerce Center and is a key driver of tenant demand to the area.
The seller, principals of Oak Valley Development Company, LLC, has owned the property since 1997 and obtained entitlements for the project in Q1 2021. The seller will deliver the offsite and road infrastructure for the project in addition to the building pads for Birtcher's vertical development. Birtcher is estimated to complete construction of phase one totaling 1.2 million square feet in Q2 2023, and phase two totaling 1 million square feet in Q3 2023. The seller has plans to develop an approximate 80-acre retail center immediately adjacent to Birtcher Oak Valley Commerce Center by 2023, which will serve as an amenity for the project and the City of Calimesa.
“The City of Redlands, which 20 years ago was considered in the “Path of Progress” has grown from an industrial base of 1.6 million square feet in 2000 to 28.1 million square feet today,” said John Ohanian, director of development for Oak Valley Development Company. “Calimesa is strategically poised to build upon that growth by offering a large industrial campus in a business-friendly city environment.”
QuadReal Property Group LP is Birtcher’s joint venture partner, Kidder Matthews’ Herb Grabell and David Burback are the seller’s listing brokers also serving as the buyer’s advisory brokers; the buyer’s listing brokers are JLL’s Mike McCrary, Peter McWilliams, Patrick Wood and Scott Coyle; Architecture by HPA; civil engineering by Proactive Engineering Consultants West Inc. and Albert A. Webb Associates; geotechnical by Alta California Geotechnical Inc. and Southern California Geotechnical.
About Birtcher Development
For over 80-years, Birtcher Development has been a developer of institutional quality commercial real estate for some of the most significant investors and occupiers in North America. Now, in its fifth generation of family ownership and management, the firm has embraced its roots of developing logistics facilities in the highest absorbing markets of the U.S. that also exhibit the highest barrier to entry. This strategy has positioned Birtcher as one of the highest sought-after aggregators of logistics properties in the strongest markets of North America. Birtcher has proven its ability to remain a leader in the industry through the cycles by regularly revisiting the business plan to remain the most relevant in this sector. The vision is to continue sourcing, developing and managing a timeless portfolio of “Legacy Real Estate” warehouses alongside the company’s institutional and high net worth families.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1c70407f-808c-4f7c-b6a9-5f78fcd7846a