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.

Monday, April 09, 2007

TEJON RANCH, CA (April 9, 2007) – The 5th District Court of Appeals in Fresno has affirmed a ruling by the Kern County Superior Court, clearing the way for the expansion of the Tejon Industrial Complex.

The Kern County Board of Supervisors originally approved the 1,109-acre expansion of Tejon Industrial Complex in 2003, but that approval was set aside when Kern County Superior Judge Kenneth C. Twisselman II ordered the County to do additional work on the Environmental Impact Report in response to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Center for Race, Poverty and Environment, and several other advocacy groups.

In response to the court’s ruling, the County prepared a supplemental analysis to the EIR, and in November 2005 the Board of Supervisors again approved the expansion of Tejon Industrial Complex. The case returned to the court, and in March 2006 Judge Twisselman ruled the supplemental analysis prepared by the County satisfied his original court order. The Center for Biological Diversity subsequently filed an appeal of Judge Twisselman’s decision. On April 6, 2007, the 5th District Court of Appeals in Fresno ruled that Judge Twisselman’s decision was correct and affirmed his ruling that the expansion of Tejon Industrial Complex could proceed.

“We are pleased to have this issue behind us so we can move ahead with our vision for Tejon Industrial Complex,” said Robert A. Stine, President and CEO of Tejon Ranch Company. “Tejon Industrial Complex is an important part of our vision to provide for California’s future by creating jobs and economic opportunity for thousands.”

When the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved Tejon Industrial Complex East – for a second time in 2005, Second District Supervisor Don Maben decried the delays created by the original lawsuit.

“This project has already created a thousand jobs and by now would have likely created another thousand and improved the quality of life for those holding those jobs, if there wasn’t this delay,” Maben said. “It’s a shame this had to take almost three (now 4 ½) years.”