IRVINE, CA—The 40-million-square-foot World Logistics Center project in Moreno Valley is a step above what others are doing in the industrial sector, Orange County-based Cox Castle Nicholson's Ken Bley tells Globet.com. CCN represented developer Highland Fairview in the entitlement of the center, which will be the largest such facility in the US. The entitlements approved by Moreno Valley's City Council included general plan amendments, rezonings, a specific plan and a development agreement, all based on a programmatic EIR. The center is projected to create more than 10,000 construction jobs and approximately 20,000 operational jobs once completed and will generate millions of dollars in benefits to Moreno Valley and its residents. It will also be the cleanest facility of its kind due to its requirement that it be served only by trucks that meet recently enacted clean-air regulations, which will not be generally imposed by the state for another decade.
We spoke exclusively with Bley about the project, why it's unique and what it represents about the logistics sector.
GlobeSt.com: How is the World Logistics Center representative of the industrial building of the future?
Bley: I'm not sure it is representative because it's a step above what others are doing. Usually you see a 1-million-square-foot or 2-million-square foot project done on a one-off basis, but the World Logistics Center is just that: it's designed for just over 40 million square feet of industrial logistics facility. It's an integrated project that will be to everyone's advantage. You have a center where people will look for jobs, and it's obviously going to be a big plus for the city of Moreno Valley since it will produce a lot of money, jobs, taxes and other benefits.
GlobeSt.com: How would you characterize the industrial sector in Moreno Valley?
Bley: There are a couple of other large buildings in the area—Prologis has one, Aldi is opening one, and there is development just over the boundary line in the city of Riverside in the March Air Force Base area. Five years ago, Moreno Valley's City Council analyzed and decided a logistics center would be advantageous for the city.
GlobeSt.com: How does this project exemplify the changes that are going on in the logistics sector?
Bley: The vision of the World Logistics Center is best described in the specific plan for the project: The vision for the World Logistics Center is to establish a world-class corporate-park environment specifically designed to support the unique logistics and operational needs of international companies and corporate users. The World Logistics Center features a clean and contemporary design aesthetic and an efficient, convenient circulation system to provide a highly functional logistics campus.
The objective of the Specific Plan is to establish the zoning criteria that will guide the orderly development of the World Logistics Center project and carry out the goals of the City's general plan. Included are development standards for integrated site planning, architecture, and landscaping. These standards establish a consistent design concept that produces a clear image and a sense of prestige, efficiency and integrity for the World Logistics Center and each project within.
The vision represents a goal that would apply to any large logistics facility. However, the size of the area needed, the extensive and costly infrastructure that must be provided and the need to locate such facilities adjacent to major highways substantially limits the ability to implement projects similar to the World Logistics Center elsewhere.
GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this project?
Bley: It's been designed with protecting the environment in mind. The state requirement for trucks to comply with conditions adopted in 2010 doesn't kick in until 2023, but the logistics center will make sure every truck that serves it complies with those requirements. It will be a very environmentally friendly project.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
