AMB, which owns 11-million sf in Northern California, released little additional information on the project and did not return a phone call seeking comment. Documents filed with the City of Tracy show AMB has acquired 44 acres at 1400 Pescadero Avenue, near the Macarthur Drive exit from I-205. The concrete tilt-up building will be 42-ft tall, according to city documents.

"Retailers are taking space, even in this current economic climate, in order to reconfigure their supply chain and gain increasingly-important operational efficiencies," says Mark Saturno, managing director, AMB's West Central Region. "California's Central Valley is rapidly gaining momentum as a preferred distribution location from which customers can, in one day, reach the major population centers of the Western U.S."

Indeed, Tracy has seen some big distribution deals inked so far this year. In April, Crate & Barrel committed to expanding its operations in Tracy by inking a 1.2-million-sf build-to-suit deal with ProLogis that will be ready for occupancy in 2009. The deal includes an option to expand the buildings by an additional 800,000 sf. Crate & Barrel will vacate existing leaseholds to consolidate operations in the larger buildings while also increasing its overall leasehold in the market.