Kern County unveils new robust economic incentive program
TEJON RANCH CO. APPLAUDS ROBUST NEW KERN COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE POLICY
Newly approved policy will assist, grow, and diversify the county’s economic base, encourage employment opportunities, and create jobs for local residents
TEJON RANCH, CA – (November 8, 2017) – Tejon Ranch Co. (NYSE: TRC) today lauded the Kern County Board of Supervisors for yesterday’s approval of a new Kern County Economic Development Incentive Policy as part of AdvanceKern, a partnership with the Kern Economic Development Corporation. The new policy gives the county flexibility to craft significant incentive packages to attract quality new businesses to the county.
“We are thrilled that the Board of Supervisors approved the policy and look forward—along with the rest of the county–to the new business opportunities it will provide,” said Barry Zoeller, Tejon Ranch Co.’s vice president of corporate communications and investor relations. “The new economic incentives outlined in the revised policy will have a transformative effect on the region and provide us with the same opportunity as other cities such as Fresno and Los Angeles to draw large-scale employers to Kern County and Tejon Ranch and ultimately create more jobs for Kern County residents.”
The Tejon Ranch Commerce Center (TRCC), a 1,450-acre active master-planned development that includes industrial, retail, food, fuel, and hospitality amenities, contains some of the largest parcels of entitled land in unincorporated Kern County and provides an ideal location for companies seeking to make use of the new incentives.
More than 15 million square feet of space is currently available at TRCC for companies seeking distribution, light manufacturing, and e-commerce fulfillment space, with additional room for destination retail to complement the existing award-winning Outlets at Tejon. Existing industrial tenants at TRCC include IKEA, Dollar General, Caterpillar, and Famous Footwear. Businesses at TRCC employ upwards of 4,000 people depending on the season.
A new Class A cross-dock industrial building was recently completed at TRCC. This new spec building, encompassing more than 480,000 square feet of space, provides near immediate access to Interstate 5, California’s principal north/south highway, and could serve nearly 90 percent of California consumers within a single-day truck turn and more than 40 million people for next day delivery service.
Targeted industry cluster groups outlined in the policy include value-added agriculture, energy and chemicals, transportation, logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, e-commerce, destination retail, business and professional services, tourism (including hospitality-oriented services), recreation and entertainment, health services and medical technologies, and aerospace and defense.
“These clusters represent outstanding opportunities for Kern County, and for Tejon Ranch, as many fall in our core offerings,” added Zoeller. “This new policy provides us a competitive advantage in attracting business to Tejon Ranch and creating jobs for county residents.”
About Tejon Ranch
Tejon Ranch Co. (NYSE: TRC), is a diversified real estate development and agribusiness company, whose principal asset is its 270,000-acre land holding located approximately 60 miles north of Los Angeles and 30 miles south of Bakersfield. More information about Tejon Ranch Co. can be found online at http://www.tejonranch.com.
About Tejon Ranch Commerce Center
The Tejon Ranch Commerce Center is located at the junction of Interstate 5 and Highway 99, at
the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, approximately 70 minutes north of Los Angeles.
The 1,450-acre industrial/commercial complex is already home to major distribution centers for
Caterpillar, Dollar General, Famous Footwear, and IKEA.
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