One of the largest industrial projects under construction in Orange County is expected to deliver in Tustin this summer.
Nevada-based Dermody Properties is nearing delivery of LogistiCenter at 55, a two-building industrial development totaling 311,770 square feet at 1100 Valencia Ave. The 14-acre site is located on an active construction corridor alongside the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway.
Dermody Properties acquired the site from Ricoh Electronics, a manufacturer of maker of digital copiers, printed circuit boards, printers and other products that once counted a notable Orange County presence but has been steadily shrinking its local footprint over the past several years.
It paid $88.1 million for the site and demolished the former Ricoh buildings for the new logistics development, which will include two buildings totaling 178,094 square feet and 133,676 square feet, respectively.
The project, located between Valencia Avenue and Bell Avenue, is expected to wrap construction during the third quarter with leasing efforts underway, led by CBRE Group.
It’s one of three projects Dermody is currently building in Southern California.
Ricoh’s Retreat
In recent years, Ricoh has sold off its owned local properties, most of which are not far from the 55 Freeway, in a series of separate transactions to industrial and multifamily developers.
Dermody’s property in Tustin was home to the headquarters for the electronics maker for several decades until it shuttered in 2021, three years after Ricoh relocated its headquarters to Georgia.
Another former Ricoh site that’s adjacent to Dermody’s Tustin site will be occupied by Bedrosians Tile & Stone, one of the largest independent porcelain tile and stone importers and distributors in the U.S.
Orange County’s Bedrosian family owns that site and had leased it to Ricoh.
The tile and stone company is moving its local operations to that 500,000-square-foot building from a 378,000-square-foot Anaheim warehouse facility; the Anaheim building is now occupied by third-party logistics firm Crane Worldwide Logistics.
In 2021, Ricoh sold a 107,600-square-foot industrial building nearbyÂÂ in Irvine to Alere Property Group, which is redeveloping the 5.2-acre site into a 120,000-square-foot industrial property; Alere expects to deliver the site this year, according to its website.
In Santa Ana, Ricoh sold its 15-acre industrial site to a venture headed by Newport Beach-based Arrimus Capital for $43.5 million; the Newport Beach firm later sold the site to Greystar Real Estate Partners after entitling it for a mixed-use residential project.
The three industrial buildings along Red Hill Avenue will be demolished to make way for a residential project from Greystar that will include 1,100 apartment units and 80,000 square feet of commercial retail and restaurant space. Construction on that project began last year.
55 Corridor
About 2 miles south of the former Ricoh sites along the 55 Freeway is another busy industrial corridor along East Dyer Road, where Hines delivered a 414,000-square-foot property and subsequently leased it to Amazon, one of the fastest-growing logistics tenants in Orange County between 2019 and 2021.
Across the street from that facility is Shea Business Center, a nearly 500,000-square-foot complex that wrapped construction in 2020, marking the largest industrial project built in the vicinity of John Wayne Airport in the past 10 years.
The project at 666 E. Dyer Road still has a few vacancies, with notable tenants including Florida-based moving and storage company PODS; Hoag Hospital; Anduril Industries; Peloton; and BYLT Apparel.
