Uncommon Completes Entitlement for 1 MSF Inland Empire Project

Uncommon Developers, of Los Angeles, has completed the entitlement for its Apple Valley One Million Distribution Center in Apple Valley, Calif., in the Inland Empire.

Leasing the 1.1 million-square-foot building has been assigned to DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services, whose Rick John and Dan Foye, executive vice presidents, will represent Uncommon in that effort.

The industrial facility, on a 72-acre site, is intended to be the first phase within a 550-acre master-planned project.

Apple Valley One Million Distribution Center is planned to have 40-foot minimum building height, 219 dock-high doors, four ground-level doors, EV charging stations for cars and trucks, office and mezzanine space, and ample car and trailer parking.

The property is grading permit–ready, so the building can be delivered as a build-to-suit within 13 months of when a lease is signed, Foye told Commercial Property Executive. He added that the site is just four blocks from an existing Walmart distribution center.

The building is planned to be delivered with 8,000 amps of power, which can be expanded to 16,000 amps, Foye added. “That is a lot of power for a building that size.”

John stated that the location provides direct access to I-15, California Route 18 and US Route 395 and is also near both Southern California Logistics Airport (the former George Air Force Base), a major air cargo hub and the planned Barstow International Gateway, a new, approximately 4,500-acre integrated rail facility on the west side of Barstow.

Uncommon did not reply to Commercial Property Executive’s request for additional information.

Shifting sands in the High Desert

In March, Rick John, who’s also the branch manager at DAUM’s Inland Empire office, made the case for CPE’s readers about why Southern California still provides opportunities in industrial real estate. 

One of those reasons, he explained, was low recent loan delinquencies in the industrial sector, and another was growing freight volume at Southern California’s ports. In addition, the Inland Empire has been showing strong absorption and continues to attract interest from potential tenants.

In the mid-tariff situation, a recent wave of deliveries has bumped the overall industrial vacancy in the Inland Empire to 6.0 percent, according to a second-quarter report from Kidder Mathews.

“Despite softer e-commerce growth,” the report stated, “demand remains for specialized spaces such as cold storage and last-mile logistics. High-efficiency buildings are leasing well, while older, less adaptable facilities face pressure.”

On-and-off tariffs have caused some users to expand their inventory, while others adopt a wait-and-see approach, Kidder Mathews reported.