ATLANTA—NAIOP has awarded Dallas-based Trammell Crow Company (TCC) its inaugural E-commerce Project of the Year. TCC won the award for its I-215 Logistics Center development, a 1.25 million square foot industrial fulfillment center that sits on 75 acres in Moreno Valley, CA.

Amazon.com occupied the industrial building in 2014. The e-commerce giant's fourth fulfillment center in the state added over 1,000 new full-time jobs to the region. Amazon employees pick, pack and ship small items, like books, electronics and other consumer goods, directly to customers at the facility. TCC will receive the award on March 5 at NAIOP's E.CON: The E-commerce Conference, in Atlanta.

“Trammell Crow Company is a leader in speculative industrial development because of our commitment to deliver to our tenants best in class building designs on best-in-class locations,” Tom Bak, senior managing director of TCC's SoCal—Newport Beach Business Unit, tells GlobeSt.com. “By understanding their changing occupancy needs and drivers, we share a common vision with e-commerce tenants as they leverage fulfillment space as a competitive advantage.”

The I-215 Logistics Center was the first 1 million square foot speculative warehouse built in the region as it continued its recovery from the Great Recession. TCC set out to develop the industrial building without any pre-leasing or direct tenant activity.

TCC worked with Clarion Partners and construction lender Wells Fargo Bank to develop what the players predicted would be a competitive structure in the industrial-heavy Inland Empire. Several name-brand investment grade tenants took interest in the industrial asset before Amazon fully pre-leased the project.

The industry building was designed with 32-foot clear height and 60-foot x 52-foot column spacing and a seven-inch floor slab. The roof design included two additional pounds of design load per square foot for enhancements to the roof framing plan, allowing for either the future installation of a roof top photo voltaic system or for potential tenant requirements.

Other key design innovations include: a master planned site with multiple points of entry for trucks and employee automobiles; truck queuing for truck maneuvering and staging; and an upgraded security system. According to NAIOP, the spec industrial project leveraged an “extremely efficient” site plan and advanced building specifications that met the needs of a high occupancy load required by companies of Amazon's size. And when Amazon inked a lease, TCC and Clarion offered an aggressive tenant improvement schedule.

“We are honored to recognize Trammell Crow Company and their partners for their foresight to develop a facility that has had a major impact on the marketplace,” Thomas Bisacquino, NAIOP president and CEO, tells GlobeSt.com. “NAIOP members, including TCC, are on the cutting-edge of the most usable spaces for e-commerce distribution and fulfillment. It's our privilege to recognize TCC for their commitment to advancing industrial real estate by creating the buildings in-demand by global e-commerce power players.”