Buzz Oates Plans $750M Sacramento-Area Business Park

Placer Commerce Center will feature 4 million to 5 million square feet.

Placer Commerce Center site. Image via Google Earth

Buzz Oates is planning to develop a 393-acre industrial business park, Placer Commerce Center, in Placer County, Calif., roughly 30 miles northeast of Sacramento. According to the Sacramento Business Journal, the developer has just completed the acquisition of the land for the project, which will ultimately feature 4 million to 5 million square feet and cost an estimated $750 million to complete at full build-out.

It appears Buzz Oates has good timing. According to a fourth quarter 2021 report by Newmark, “Despite the huge increase in demand for new industrial development opportunities, there have not been a lot of new industrial land sales, as there are simply few available industrial land sales remaining.”

Buzz Oates notes on its LinkedIn page that it purchased the land for Placer Commerce Center, sited off Highway 65 near Interstate 80, in conjunction with Pac West Industrial Equities, a division the company formed in 2017 to expand and improve its services in the industrial sector. According to the Placer Commerce Center flyer, the master-planned business park, which will sit at the intersection of North Foothills Blvd. and Athens Ave, will comprise a parcel totaling 163.7 acres, a 153.8-acre parcel and a smaller parcel totaling 75.9 acres.


READ ALSO: Why the Chip Shortage Is a Boon for US Markets


Placer Commerce Center will be designed to accommodate a variety of industrial uses, including light industrial, logistics and advanced manufacturing. However, Buzz Oates intends to take the state-of-the-art business center beyond the typical industrial park, making the project a designated Innovation Center Zone and incorporating accommodations for data centers, information technology, life sciences and knowledge-based innovation centers as well. In addition to speculative development, the park will offer build-to-suit opportunities and land sales.

With zoning already approved, Buzz Oates expects to commence design activity and horizontal infrastructure construction without delay. According to the Sacramento Business Journal, the project will take an estimated 10 to 20 years to reach full completion.

Breaking records and breaking ground

The metropolitan Sacramento industrial market is booming; developers can’t build fast enough to accommodate users’ needs. In 2021, Sacramento broke two records, with its highest-ever annual net absorption at approximately 6.3 million square feet, according to a Colliers International report, while simultaneously seeing the delivery of its highest-ever new supply, which totaled roughly 5 million square feet.

Although Placer Commerce Center is in the very early stages, all signs indicate that the strong demand for industrial space will continue in the Sacramento area over the long term. “No market slowdown is in sight as speculative developments are regularly 90 percent leased by delivery,” according to the Colliers report.

It is unclear how Buzz Oates will finance the project, but lenders from every corner of the community remain keen on providing capital for industrial projects.

You May Also Like