Western Real Estate Business magazine covers the multifamily, retail, office, healthcare, industrial and hospitality sectors in the Western United States.
Issue link: https://westernrealestatebusiness.epubxp.com/i/888015
32 • October 2017 • Western Real Estate Business www.REBusinessOnline.com 10 miles from Ontario International Airport and 60 miles from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, two of the largest and busiest ports in the en- tire United States. Ask anyone in the trucking industry about Fontana, and there's a good chance they've been to one of its state-of-the-art warehouses. One of the city's newest undertak- ings is the Sierra Lakes Commerce Center, a 598,000-square-foot facility that broke ground this spring and is scheduled for completion in 2018. This new property will complement the existing Sierra Pacific Center, a 744,032-square-foot, Class A logistics and distribution facility that was built several years ago to accommodate a wide variety of users. Some of the city's major distribution center users include Target, LG, Mer- cedes-Benz, Southern California Edi- son, Home Shopping Network, Avery Dennison and Walmart. Fontana's automotive sector is also growing rapidly. The Fontana Auto Center, situated along the south side of Interstate 210, welcomed its new- est addition, Valley Kia, in 2016. The dealership was welcomed by neigh- bors Rotolo Chevrolet, Fontana Nis- san and Rock Honda. The auto cen- ter will accommodate as many as 12 dealerships when it's completely built out, bringing together some of the finest automotive facilities in the Inland Empire. Whether logistics, automotive or any industry in between, Fontana is a city in development with an abun- dance of land available to support future logistics and distribution facili- ties. Carlsbad, N.M. Situated in the southeast corner of New Mexico is Carlsbad — a city that has withstood many periods of peaks and valleys. As the economic factors have changed over time, Carlsbad has grown and flourished,resulting in a peak of economic growth. This trend has been relatively steady over most of the past decade. The strength of this growth has been due to its di- versity in industries, and the growth of businesses within those industries. Leading the way has been oil and gas. New oil reserves have been tapped in the area over the past years that have allowed Eddy County to oc- casionally lead the nation in oil pro- duction. New businesses have entered this market by the droves, establishing the backbone of the industrial markets in both Eddy County and Carlsbad. Even when oil prices dropped sharply a couple years ago, the area's unem- ployment rate never reached double digits, topping out at 7.2 percent. Fontana's access to major freeways has not only benefited its trucking and logistics industry, but its retail market as well, as shoppers can easily connect to notable retailers at centers like Highland Village at the northeast corner of Sierra Avenue and South Highland Road. Quite Simply, Hesperia Works for Business The City of Hesperia, with a population of 103,000, is located in southern California's Inland Empire approximately 70 miles northeast of Los Angeles, and is the gateway to the High Desert region when headed north on Interstate 15. With 17 miles of highly desirable north-south Interstate 15 frontage with average daily traffic counts of 202,000, retailers in proximity to Hesperia's I-15 and Main Street trade area can take advantage of the $2.6 billion trade potential and have access to a population of 303,000 residents with an average household income of $64,000. With Hesperia's demographic composition and the rise of experiential retail, the city's attraction efforts are now focused on the nearly 30% of the trade area population comprised of Millennials. This makes Hesperia ripe for interactive entertainment and retail experiences. With the assistance of analytics from Buxton, a City of Hesperia partner spanning thirteen years, economic development staff is honing in on the right mix of retail, restaurants, hospitality and entertainment concepts that will best resonate with the region's residents and visitors. There are many options available for retailers and developers in Hesperia. Vacant city-owned properties bordering Civic Plaza in downtown have a three-mile daytime population of 47,000. Shop space, pads and majors are available at Mountain Vista Plaza, the Marketplace on Main, and High Desert Gateway. Large parcels in excess of 200 acres are available in Hesperia at considerably lower costs than found in other areas of southern California. Businesses will find that Hesperia's pro-development attitude begins at the top with a City Council committed to commerce. Many national retailers and restaurants have chosen Hesperia as their first regional location and found great success there. Golden Corral, Tractor Supply, Habit Burger Grill, OSH, Menchies, Firehouse Subs, and most recently, Aldi's, are but a few. Attraction efforts by the city's economic development staff also have resulted in successfully siting Super Target, Marshalls, Walmart Supercenter, Petco and many others in Hesperia. Aldi Markets recently joined the growing list national retailers this summer. In addition, the new Interstate 15 interchange at Ranchero Road has opened up access to several large parcels of undeveloped land at the four quadrants of the interchange for regional commercial uses. Hesperia's staff is now working with developers to attract retailers to this location which is within close proximity to transportation corridors leading to mountain resorts including Mammoth. In particular, outdoor lifestyle specialty stores for recreational sports are being sought for the next freeway- oriented retail development in Hesperia. Lewis Retail Centers already invested in Hesperia with 369,800-square-feet in the highly successful High Desert Gateway, with another 152,000-square-foot planned for their second phase. High Desert Gateway West will be coming online before the end of the year with Starbucks, followed by Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, and Fatburger. The Gateway center is well-positioned to serve the existing trade area as well as future growth, fueled in part by West Main Villas, one of the most commuter-friendly housing communities now under construction in Hesperia. These 200 one- and two-story duplexes on Main Street between Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 395 are about a ¼-mile from High Desert Gateway. Hesperia's economic development team understand small business needs, recognizing that time is of the essence when it comes to getting a project up and running. They believe in entitlements, not entanglements. To find out how, quite simply, Hesperia works for business, call 760/947-1910. Sierra Pacific Center is a 744,032-square-foot, Class A logistics and distribution facility that was built in Fontana several years ago to accommodate a wide variety of users.