IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Industrial construction will continue to grow in Southern California during 2014, with much of that activity expected to happen in the Inland Empire, according to a forecast released Monday.
About 12.7 million square feet of industrial space is expected to come online in Riverside and San Bernardino counties next year, said John Hollingsworth, Colliers International’s executive managing partner for industrial properties in greater Los Angeles.
An estimated 20 “mega projects” are expected to hit the market in the two-county region during 2014, fueled by the growth in e-commerce projects like the one-million-square-foot warehouse-distribution center that Amazon.com opened in San Bernardino in November, according to the forecast.
“While this hinders traditional retail real estate, with big-box stores suffering, it is a boon to big-box industrial,” Hollingsworth said in a statement. “The mega-fulfillment center is the first step in what Amazon considers to be their ultimate goal, same-day delivery.”
Activity at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is expected to grow about 2.7 percent in 2014, another good sign for the local industrial market, Hollingsworth said.
