![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781512519_707_w=9999.jpeg\"\/)
5665 Dennis McCarthy Drive at Tejon Ranch. (Photo c\/o CoStar)<\/p>\nA lack of large, empty warehouses, the need for more land and high costs in the L.A. area are leading some industrial tenants to look north and east to meet their space needs better.<\/p>\n
And local developers and owners of industrial properties are taking note, building more space to meet the demand.<\/p>\n
Take Santa Monica-based Dedeaux Properties<\/b>. The firm, which has 14 million square feet of land in its portfolio and was founded by baseball coach and businessman Rod Dedeaux<\/b>, is betting big on the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center. Located at the crossroads of Interstate 5 and Highway 99 \u2013 nearly an hour north of Santa Clarita \u2013 the area covers nearly 1,500 acres.<\/p>\n
Dedeaux Properties Senior Director of Investments Rishi Thakkar<\/b> said he believed in the \u201cdevelopment potential\u201d of the site and pointed to how quickly the existing product was 100% leased as reasons why it was a desirable project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have tremendous respect for the Tejon Ranch Co.<\/b> and what they\u2019ve built,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dedeaux Properties already has one development at the center and another in the works. The firm, along with Tejon Ranch Co., broke ground earlier this year on a 510,000-square-foot industrial facility at the center.<\/p>\n
5665 Dennis McCarthy Drive at Tejon Ranch. (Photo c\/o CoStar)<\/p>\n
The development sits on a 24.6-acre site and could be used by either a single tenant or multiple tenants. Slated for completion in 2027, the project features high clearances, 100 dock-high doors, 185-foot cross-dock truck courts, and 4,000 square feet of office space. Fullmer Construction<\/b> is the general contractor for the new development, while Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.<\/b> will have the listing.<\/p>\n
Thakkar said he expected the new asset to attract strong interest due to the lack of similar products.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very challenging to amass 25 acres,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
There are some stark differences between this project and the last one Dedeaux worked on at Tejon Ranch, one of which is that this is the first project where the two are in direct partnership; the previous asset Dedeaux purchased from Tejon, developed, and then sold in 2024.<\/p>\n
The property \u2013 a 233,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility at the center \u2013 was purchased by a national clothing and textile distributor, which relocated from the Inland Empire. The property was sold months after it was completed.<\/p>\n
Jay Cuccia<\/b>, an executive vice president at JLL who is working with Tejon Ranch and Dedeaux, called the area \u201cgreat for distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strategic location that it provides is really good access to the north and south major trade corridors of the western United States and, more specifically, California,\u201d he said, adding that 54 million people could be reached within a one-day truck drive from the site, giving it \u201creally good reach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cuccia said Tejon Ranch had key differentiators from the Inland Empire, an area east of Los Angeles where many industrial users have large warehouses. However, the two areas are comparable distances from the ports, and both have many assets and ample parking, he said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/w=300.jpeg\"\/)
Jay Cuccia<\/p>\n
The Inland Empire has a \u201cmega industrial presence\u201d and \u201calmost its own economy,\u201d Cuccia said. At Tejon Ranch, he said he sees \u201ca lot of bigger credit users who have more complex distribution models\u201d and firms looking to \u201cmaximize efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Inland Empire, Cuccia has seen vacancy rates increase from the incredibly tight rates seen during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Tejon Ranch has better access to Northern California and other markets, such as Seattle, than the Inland Empire does, Cuccia said.<\/p>\n
And it is considered a \u201ccheap\u201d alternative to L.A., with rents often 50% less, he said.<\/p>\n
The Commerce Center is part of a larger 270,000 acre development that Tejon Ranch Co. calls a \u201cstrategic alternative to an increasingly land-constrained Inland Empire, offering available acreage, direct freeway access, expedited building delivery, and a Foreign Trade Zone designation that allows tenants to defer, reduce, or eliminate customs duties on imported goods.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cuccia said while some industrial assets in areas like the Inland Empire can get a Foreign Trade Zone designation, most have to go through an application process, which is not the case in Tejon Ranch, which already has the designation.<\/p>\n
To date, roughly 7 million square feet of industrial space has been developed at the Commerce Center, and the property is fully occupied. Companies such as Ikea<\/b>, Nestl\u00e9 USA<\/b>, L\u2019Or\u00e9al<\/b>, Caterpillar<\/b>, Dollar General<\/b>, Camping World<\/b> and Famous Footwear<\/b> are at the center.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur partnership with Dedeaux is built on shared conviction, which includes knowing when to move,\u201d Matt Walker<\/b>, president and chief executive of Tejon Ranch Co., said in a statement. \u201cWe\u2019re building into a market where industrial supply across Southern California is limited, and leasing demand has been accelerating. Our new facility is well-timed to meet the market.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that partnership is a big part of Tejon Ranch\u2019s plans going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of our key approaches is new development in partnership with successful California developers such as Dedeaux on a spec basis,\u201d said Derek Abbott<\/b>, executive vice president of real estate at Tejon Ranch. He noted that the company has also partnered with firms like City of Industry-based Majestic Realty Co.<\/b> on projects at the center.<\/p>\n
Cuccia said he has been seeing a lot of joint ventures for industrial properties, which help \u201cpool together capital\u201d and \u201croll out additional real estate development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the success we\u2019ve had and the track record with the JVs, it\u2019s definitely something they\u2019d like to continue going forward,\u201d Cuccia said.<\/p>\n
Everything at the center is already pre-entitled, which he said means the timeframe to build is \u201cshorter than you\u2019ll find anywhere else in California,\u201d adding that it was very \u201cbusiness friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thakkar hopes Dedeaux works on more projects at Tejon Ranch in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt starts with one building,\u201d Thakkar said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe in the future growth potential of California,\u201d he said. \u201cL.A. is growing in every direction. It is very land-constrained\u2026 For that reason, you\u2019re seeing growth outside of (the city proper).\u201d<\/p>\n
The company is working on several partnerships and doing more development for others.<\/p>\n
There are 11 million square feet of industrial left to be developed at the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center, and Abbott said he was continuing to \u201cidentify great partners to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe move quickly and act as a small, narrow team that\u2019s focused on developing these properties efficiently,\u201d Abbott said, adding that he was hoping to build \u201can income portfolio\u201d and \u201cadd value over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that in the next few years he sees \u201cconsistent production from Tejon Ranch and its partners as far as bringing new buildings forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brett Dedeaux<\/b>, the chief executive and managing partner of Dedeaux Properties, called the center \u201cone of the most compelling development sites in the state\u201d in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur joint venture reflects what we believe is a repeatable model: taking advantage of robust market fundamentals in a location that has a strong track record of attracting institutional-grade tenants,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A lack of large, empty warehouses, the need for more land and high costs in the L.A. area…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":868500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,318506,2961,224,5337],"class_list":["post-868499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-dedeaux-properties","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116753211530393499","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}