Industrial, Retail Users Lease 377,000 SF

[IMGCAP(1)]FONTANA, CA-Industrial and retail users have signed leases for more than 377,000 square feet of space here and in Riverside. The deals include two industrial leases totaling 347,000 square feet in Fontana and Riverside, plus a 30,000-square-foot retail deal in Riverside.

In the Fontana transaction, Recall Information Systems Inc. signed a 169,732-square-foot, $5.65 million lease for space at 7875 Hemlock Ave., according to DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services. DAUM’s Mark Zorn and Tal Siglar of the company’s Inland Empire office represented the landlord, Alere Property Group, which is based in Newport Beach. The tenant was represented by Greg Lance of UGL Equis.

[IMGCAP(2)]In the other industrial lease, third-party logistics firm OHL signed a deal for 177,591 square feet of space at 1580 Eastridge Ave. in Riverside, according to Dan De la Paz of the Ontario office of CB Richard Ellis Inc., who co-represented the firm with Doug McDowell of ProVenture. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is the fifth significant lease transaction for OHL in the Inland Empire this year, representing more than 1.2 million square feet cumulatively, according to De La Paz.

“Given today’s troubled economy, many occupiers are opting to outsource their real estate and logistical needs to third party providers as a cost-savings measure, as well as to reduce real estate-related risk related to fluctuating inventory levels,” De La Paz observes. As a result of this trend, third-party logistics firms “are definitely viewed as a bright spot in the otherwise challenged industrial market,” De La Paz adds.

In the retail lease in Riverside, Ross Dress for Less has signed a 10-year lease for 30,312 square feet at Riverside Towne Center, a 53,484-square-foot center owned by Santa Monica-based Watt Commercial Properties. The clothing retailer, which is expected to open the store in May, will fill space vacated by Circuit City after that retailer filed bankruptcy last year.

Watt Commercial was represented by Wilson Commercial Real Estate, which began looking for a replacement tenant after Circuit City declared bankruptcy and vacated the space in November of 2008, according to Watt. The 10-year lease includes four five-year options. “This is a significant lease signing, and we envision more good news to come at other Watt centers in Southern California,” comments WCRE president Chris Wilson.

Riverside Towne Center is located at the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Tyler Street and is currently anchored by Big 5 Sporting Goods. Ross Dress for Less, based in the Northern California city of San Bruno, has 922 stores across the country.