A project that promises to be the largest industrial development to break ground in Orange County in nearly seven years is moving through the entitlement process, and could be completed by the end of 2021 if all goes well.
A former Kimberly-Clark tissue paper manufacturing site in Fullerton is expected to be converted into a logistics facility spanning more than 1.5 million square feet. Plans for the project were recently revealed; the site traded hands for $202 million last December.
CBRE Group Inc. is listing the four-building project to tenants, specifically logistics and e-commerce customers, with spaces ranging from 173,282 to 535,255 square feet.
The largest of the four buildings will be the largest individual industrial building to be built in OC in over a decade.
Australia’s Goodman Group, an $18 billion-valued industrial investor with a massive overseas portfolio that operates its North American operations out of Irvine, is behind the development. The site is at 2001 E. Orangethorpe Ave., near the intersection of the Orange (57) and Riverside (91) freeways.
The project will be built on a 65-acre site and has been dubbed Goodman Logistics Center.
Premium Rents Expected
The existing 1.2 million-square-foot site was long home to paper goods manufacturer Kimberly-Clark; the company announced plans in 2018 to shutter the tissue-making facility, which employed close to 300 people.
The Irving, Texas-based maker of Kleenex and other related products (NYSE: KMB) sold the property for about $155 per square foot.
Kimberly-Clark is in the process of vacating the facility, which will be razed to make way for the new logistics center.
CBRE’s Glenn Dyke, Darla Longo and Barbara Emmons Perrier represented the seller, while Sean Ward and Ben Seybold from the same brokerage firm represented the buyer.
Construction is slated to start by 2021.
This property’s specific location in OC’s main base of industrial facilities is expected to bring in premium rents, bolstered by a lack of new construction within the sector locally, according to brokers.
Increase in Investment
Anthony Rozic, CEO of Goodman North America, said the project will enable “customers to create a unique logistics campus tailored to their needs with capability to increase their supply chain efficiency.”
“These sites provide our customers with the opportunity to be more efficient and agile and keep up with the changing retail and e-commerce landscape,” Rozic said.
It marks the largest local endeavor for Goodman, which has been active on the investment front as of late.
The company plans on continuing this American industrial investment push and said it wants to nearly double its holdings here, thanks to an ongoing partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board that was expanded earlier this year.
The partnership increased their equity commitment by 83% to $5.5 billion, with Goodman putting forward an additional $1.4 billion and CPP putting in the other $1.1 billion.
The partnership invests in logistics markets in Southern California and New Jersey, totaling more than 16 million square feet in assets under management since the partnership began in 2012, including the Fullerton development site.
