Tejon Ranch Co. partners with SoCal developer on speculative industrial project near Grapevine
Just a year after worries of a slowdown put the brakes on speculative construction of warehouses in Southern California, Tejon Ranch Co. announced Monday it is partnering to develop a 510,385-square-foot industrial building north of the Grapevine — without any particular tenant in mind.
The Lebec-based agribusiness and real estate development company said it will joint-venture with Santa Monica-based Dedeaux Properties LLC, with which it has co-developed another project at the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center measuring 233,000 square feet.
The proposed building has been designed for single- or multi-tenant use on a 24.57-acre site expected to be built out early next year with 36-foot clear height, 100 dock-high doors and 4,000 square feet of office space.
Tejon Ranch sees TRCC as ever more competitive at a time when the Inland Empire is running out of available land for construction of distribution centers. The company notes its commerce center offers a bonus feature in the form of a new apartment community that is expected to expand as housing demand rises among employees and others.
President and CEO Matt Walker noted in a phone interview the center remains 100% leased after years of consistent rent increases. He acknowledged uncertainties arose in early 2025 related to tariffs but said, "A year later, that impact has largely stabilized."
"We think that right now is the right time to move forward," Walker said. He added that "spec" development has been common at TRCC because of market expectations.
"What we find is that most tenants want to move into a new building in a matter of months," he said. "They don't want to wait 15 to 18 to 20 months."
Walker downplayed the possibility of further slowing in local industrial real estate, saying new construction in the Inland Empire has slowed significantly. He predicted additional speculative development at Tejon Ranch.
"We're looking to continue to expand at the commerce center, so yeah, we hope to bring more buildings online," he said.
TRCC is a master-planned development measuring 20 million square feet. Already it hosts distribution centers run by Camping World, Caterpillar, Dollar General, Famous Footwear, IKEA, L'Oréal and Nestlé USA, as well as a Plant Prefab housing manufacturing facility.
Dedeaux's senior director of investment, Rishi Thakkar, said in a news release the company believes in the future development potential of TRCC's 11 million square feet of remaining industrial entitlements.
"The speed at which 100% of the existing space was leased or sold to high- caliber tenants underscores TRCC's strong market positioning and the viability of this evolving industrial hub," Thakkar stated.
