Enormous distribution center coming to Rancho Cucamonga

Work is underway on a new $150-million logistics center in Rancho Cucamonga that will create two massive warehouses for rent.

Developer Goodman Birtcher has started work on the Goodman Logistics Center Rancho Cucamonga, which will consist of a 1 million-square-foot warehouse and a 556,000-square-foot warehouse at the southeast corner of Arrow Route and Etiwanda Avenue.

The complex, expected to be completed in 2015, is being built on “spec,” meaning the developers have no tenants lined up yet. The Inland Empire, however, is a thriving center of product distribution – sometimes known as logistics – for many of the country’s biggest retailers.

“The project positions us well to take advantage of the significant demand for class A logistics and warehousing space in the key Inland Empire West market, particularly for big-box facilities of greater than 500,000 square feet,” said Brandon Birtcher, chief executive of Goodman Birtcher.

His company is the North American subsidiary of Goodman Group, one of Australia’s largest industrial property developers and landlords.

The Rancho Cucamonga project marks the launch of a $1.4-billion development program by Goodman Birtcher that will create 15 million square feet of logistics properties in major U.S. markets over the next three years, the company said.

It also follows the recent completion of Goodman Logistics Center Oakland, a new $45-million logistics facility in the Bay Area.

The company plans to build five Southern California logistics projects with a combined value of $775 million.

Twitter: @rogervincent