Tejon Ranch And Rockefeller Group Begin Construction On New Building At Tejon Industrial Complex

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Partners Start on 606,000 Square Foot Warehouse Facility Designed to Serve the Needs of West Coast-Based Logistics Operators

TEJON RANCH, Calif. (April 10, 2007) – The partnership of Tejon Ranch Company (NYSE: TRC) and Rockefeller Group Development Corporation (Rockefeller Group) today announced it is commencing with the development of a 606,000 square foot warehouse building at Tejon Industrial Complex (TIC), the 1,450-acre master planned commercial development that anchors California’s central trade corridor.

“Rockefeller Group is an organization with a worldwide reputation for quality commercial development, with a demonstrated depth of expertise in the Foreign Trade Zone arena,” said Robert A. Stine, President and CEO of Tejon Ranch Company. “We are pleased to align those strengths with Tejon Ranch’s focus on delivering high-quality and well planned real estate developments that are strategically positioned to provide for California’s future economic prosperity.”

Tejon Ranch and Rockefeller Group’s joint venture partnership includes securing a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) designation at TIC as an expansion of Port of LA FTZ #202, with a goal of developing the property within the FTZ for warehouse and distribution uses.

“Tejon Industrial Complex is in a strategic position to fulfill the location needs of warehouse and industrial space users best served by efficient outbound logistics on the West Coast,” said Tom McCormick, SIOR, Rockefeller Group”s Senior Vice President of Development. “Our studies of imported goods and commodities moving into the U.S. markets through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach indicate that TIC is uniquely positioned to support the flow of such materials as they move into the marketplace. A TIC location also offers efficient access to the Port of Oakland, providing a link to all of California’s major ports from one location.”

The 606,000-square-foot warehouse facility, which will be built adjacent to IKEA’s western regional distribution facility, will be available for lease. It will serve the requirements of companies that need to move goods from California’s ports to a centralized location for staging prior to statewide or western regional distribution.

The Colliers International team of Thomas Taylor, Senior Vice President, and John DeGrinis, SIOR, Senior Vice President, are the brokerage representatives for leasing and land sale opportunities at TIC.

“This new facility will meet the growing demand for efficient, well-designed logistics-friendly warehouse space we see in the current marketplace,” said Taylor. “Conditions are growing tighter in the established Southern California industrial corridors for big-box warehouse space serving port related logistics concerns. TIC is the next logical location, especially for companies seeking an existing facility and who desire room for the option of future expansion.”

The benefits of locating in a Foreign Trade Zone can be significant. FTZs allow manufacturers and distributors to defer duty payment on imported items or raw materials that are stored an FTZ until such goods are removed from the FTZ facility and entered into the commerce of the United States for consumption. Qualified FTZ companies may also receive permission from Customs to move imported items directly from the ports to the FTZ, thereby avoiding delays at congested ports. In addition, the Trade and Development Act of 2000 allows FTZ companies to file one Customs entry per week versus one per day or per shipment. This procedure can significantly reduce the number of Customs entries filed annually, which results in reduced fees, streamlined Customs reporting procedures, lower inventory levels and overall costs savings.

TIC is located at the junction of Interstate 5 and Highway 99, at the southern end of California’s Central Valley, approximately 60 minutes north of Los Angeles and four hours south of Oakland. The 1,450-acre industrial/commercial complex is already home to 2.5 million square feet of existing warehouse facilities, including IKEA”s Western North American Distribution Center, which serves California, the western United States and Canada, and Oneida Ltd’s West Coast Distribution Center.