Rockefeller Group snags Inland Empire site for logistics centers

New York developer planning 623,000 square feet in Perris

Daniel J. Moore and the site (Credit: Rockefeller Group)
Daniel J. Moore and the site (Credit: Rockefeller Group)

Rockefeller Group is betting on demand for modern logistics space in Southern California — with good reason.

The New York-based developer has purchased 30 acres in the Riverside County city of Perris and plans to build a pair of industrial facilities there, according to the Commercial Observer.

The firm purchased the shovel-ready sites from Newcastle Partners for $20 million. Rockefeller plans to break ground next month and have the buildings ready for occupancy by spring.

The larger of the two facilities will measure 333,500 square feet on 17 acres. A 289,500-square-foot facility will take up the other 13 acres. They are being called the Harvill Avenue Logistics Center and the Val Verde Logistics Center, respectively.

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Industrial real estate and single-family homes have performed well while nearly every other real estate category has floundered during the coronavirus pandemic. Industrial real estate investment trusts have returned nearly 27 percent this year, while retail REITS are down 40 percent, hospitality REITs have lost half their value, and office and residential REITs are down more than 10 percent.

Logistics properties have benefited from the pandemic’s acceleration of e-commerce. Amazon recently announced it would open 100 new facilities this month including logistics centers after reporting a record $88.9 billion in second quarter sales — a 40 percent year-over-year increase. A longer-term Amazon plan calls for 1,000 warehouses.

Rockefeller Group is owned by the Japanese real estate giant Mitsubishi Estate and owns a handful of other industrial properties in Southern California, including the recently completed Centerpointe Commerce Center in nearby Moreno Valley and a 19-acre facility in San Bernardino.

Last week the company broke ground on a 222,300-square-foot distribution center in Atlanta. [Commercial Observer] Dennis Lynch