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LEBEC - 05/02/05 - Strategically located at the intersection of Interstate 5 (I-5) and State Highway 99 - the two major highway arteries linking Northern and Southern California - the Tejon Industrial Complex (TIC) is reportedly being eyed by developers as a candidate for a make-over into a major distribution hub for international goods moving thoughout the western US.

The 1,450-acre complex is comprised of a truck stop with a Starbucks that is said to be the busiest in the entire state, and the abandoned DaisyTek International warehouse that is partially used by retail giant Ikea, which operates its 1.7-million-square-foot Western North American Distribution Center nearby.

Located at the western corner of the 270,000-acre high desert Tejon Ranch - about 30 miles south of Bakersfield and 60 miles up the I-5 from Los Angeles - the site is "ideally located to serve much of the western half of the United States and Canada…and can provide direct access to the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach and Oakland, making it useful for many companies and transportation firms operating on the West Coast," said Barry Zoeller, vice president of corporate communications for Tejon Ranch Co., making it "the perfect place to capture north-south truck traffic."

Drafting a feasibility study for future use of the site is Centennial Founders LLC, which is already laying out plans for a master-planned, 30,000-resident community just east of the TIC along the I-5 and State Highway 138.
 
In an effort to make the complex more attractive to companies, Centennial formed a joint venture with the Rockefeller Group Development Corp. earlier this year to establish a 500-acre Foreign Trade Zone in the business park.
 
The master-planned site is able to accommodate more than 9 million square feet of new industrial development. The Foreign Trade Zone designation for the site is expected to receive approval by the end of the year.

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Stockton Carves Out Niche Port Status

STOCKTON – 08/16/05 – Over the past several months, the inland Port of Stockton has cemented its niche as a bulk cargo specialty port with the start-up of a new multi-purpose breakbulk/container service linking the North American West Coast and Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, and the first-ever handling of a bulk shipment of 37,000 tons of barite from China; the port is located 75 miles inland from the San Francisco Bay Area on the Stockton deep-water ship channel.