Major logistics development underway in Chino

Construction has started on a major warehouse-distribution facility in Chino that is reportedly the largest speculative industrial project currently under development in the western United States.

Empire Gateway will be built at the northwest corner of Euclid Avenue and Pine Street, according to Colliers International Ontario, which is marketing the project.

Workers began grading and pouring slabs about two weeks ago, said Thomas Taylor, senior vice president with Colliers and a member of the brokerage team.

The 125-acre site, which is former dairyland, is near the intersection of Interstates 10 and 15. It’s one of the last parcels on the west end of the Inland Empire that is zoned for “big-box” industrial development, according to Colliers.

Sares-Regis is developing the four-building project, which will cover about 2.1 million square feet. Empire Gateway is expected to be finished during the first quarter of next year, but it’s not clear whether any tenants will be signed by then.

“We’re looking for ‘big-box’ retail users, and there are quite a few possibilities out there,” Taylor said. “But we don’t have anyone yet.”

Because this category of industrial space is dwindling, especially on the Inland region’s west end, Empire Gateway should not be difficult to market.

“Demand for large industrial space is still pretty high,” Taylor said. “The demand for projects of 500,000 square feet and higher has stayed up [during the recession]. That Sares-Regis is developing this project is another sign of how strong the market is.”

Empire Gateway’s two largest buildings will cover 779,952 and 658,756 square feet, and both will include loading docks on both sides. The two remaining buildings will cover 522,267 and 89,000 square feet.

All four properties will be for lease only, with lease rates expected to be about 43 cents a square foot, Taylor said.

The tentative lease rates for Empire Gateway are a little higher than normal for large industrial properties in the Inland Empire because the project is closer to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

“Other than a project that is being built in Commerce, there aren’t any industrial project being built near the ports,” Taylor said.

Sares-Regis will own Empire Gateway and be its landlord, Taylor said.