For many Southern California motorists, the land cut by Interstate 15 on the desert side of the Cajon Pass is little more than boring scenery on the way to and from Las Vegas.
But Dougall Agan, a principal of Stirling Airports International of Laguna Hills, says he has always been able to see the future in a piece of property. And in his eyes, the future of what used to be George Air Force Base in Victorville is brighter than the High Desert sun.
“You could say I have an intuition,” said Agan. “I don’t have to see something to believe in it.”
High Desert city leaders have put their faith in Agan’s vision, hiring his firm in 1998 to develop the shuttered base now known as Southern California Logistics Airport. They back up their decision by pointing to Agan’s track record, which, they believe, has proved that his intuition is frequently right on the money.
Landing Cargo Business
Agan said he agreed to develop the High Desert airfield after his firm concluded that rapidly growing Southern California needed to relieve Los Angeles International Airport by developing more air-cargo facilities.
He has already landed a cargo carrier. SwissGlobalCargo/Panalpina , an international air-cargo company , is using the airport weekly to move electronic and computer equipment and clothing.
The airport was a superior choice to LAX, said Michael Schaecher, the carrier’s vice president. SwissGlobalCargo benefits from the High Desert airport’s lower storage and landing fees, as well as its faster customs inspections, he said.
Agan expects the airport’s success with SwissGlobalCargo to attract new cargo clients. He also hopes to expand the airport’s aviation maintenance operations in the next year and to realign Phantom Road, which runs through the property.
Art of the Deal
Agan came south to California from Washington in 1981 to study business psychology and economics at Claremont McKenna College on a football scholarship.
Now a confessed “deal junkie,” Agan said that at the time, he was primarily interested in working for the production side of the entertainment industry. But Agan said he discovered a superficiality in the entertainment business that his small-town origins could not abide.
Instead, Agan developed his own company while studying at Claremont McKenna: Agan’s Architectural Arts, which sought to get real estate developers to donate about 1% of the total cost of their projects to open-space art, primarily sculpture.
The contacts Agan made during that time, including one with Daniel Richards of Stephen Daniels Commercial Brokerage Inc. in Rancho Cucamonga, helped the student switch career paths.
“Dan Richards was the one who inspired me and taught me that there are limitless possibilities in real estate,” said Agan. “He was one of my mentors.”
Richards, however, said Agan was primarily self-driven.
“Dougall was a star when I hired him out of school, and he’s a star now,” Richards said. “He’s very focused and very driven, which I guess a lot of people are. But Dougall is also very proficient and diligent, and that’s what separates the men from the boys in this business.”
Challenge of Remote Risks
Agan today is focusing his diligence on the sands surrounding Southern California Logistics Airport, which he envisions as the epicenter of a new destination market revolving around electronic commerce and logistics.
Critics have claimed the former base, dormant since the early 1990s, is the underdog in an uphill race for civilian business clients among several former Air Force installations in the Inland Empire. According to detractors, the major obstacle is its remote location in relation to Los Angeles International Airport.
Agan disagrees. What critics call an obstacle is, instead, a blessing for businesses that recognize the potential of the area in terms of inexpensive housing and fast distribution, he said.
“This region is now the future growth in Southern California,” Agan said. “The pressure, and the migration from that pressure, is already happening here as we see more businesses and individuals move from Los Angeles and Orange counties.”
A master plan should be drawn up for the Victor Valley to provide homes and businesses for that migration, Agan said. His firm has drafted designs for a multi-use business park on 5,000 acres of airport property. He envisions the center being filled by biomedical, manufacturing, distribution, e-commerce, technological and retail operations.
Stirling Background
The idea of such a large-scale, masterplanned development is not new to Agan, who helped build the 2,743-acre Foothill Ranch community in Orange County and continues to act as its director of marketing. Foothill Ranch includes 3,900 homes with 13,000 residents, as well as 8.5 million square feet of office space.
After the Foothill project, Agan, along with partner Chris Downey, founded Stirling. Agan focuses on marketing and design, while Downey focuses on daily operations and project maintenance.
“There were plenty of people who didn’t believe the Foothill Ranch project would work, just as I’m sure there are people who have their doubts about (the High Desert airport). But I believe in both projects,” Agan said. n
Materna is a staff writer at the Business Press, Inland Empire.
