Tejon Ranch Commerce Center adds Dollar General distribution center
TEJON RANCH TO SERVE AS THE HUB OF DOLLAR GENERAL’S WESTERN SUPPLY CHAIN
Dollar General leases large warehouse facility to serve as its California distribution center
TEJON RANCH, Calif. (January 10, 2012) – The partnership of Tejon Ranch Company (NYSE: TRC) and Rockefeller Group Development Corporation, together with Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG), today announced the discount retailer is leasing 439,000 square feet of warehouse space in the building the partnership owns at the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center. Dollar General will use the facility to support its expansion into California.
“The Tejon Ranch distribution center is strategically located to serve our supply chain needs as we continue to expand westward,” said John Flanigan, Dollar General’s executive vice president of global supply chain. “From its central location, our supply chain team can deliver goods to stores in northern and southern California in a day.”
Dollar General currently has more than 9,800 stores in 38 states. The discount retailer is adding California as its 39th state and plans to open 50 stores throughout the state in 2012. The distribution center at the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center will be the company’s 11th distribution center in its extensive, cross-country supply chain network. The new facility, which is anticipated to begin operations in April, will eventually employ approximately 250 people. Hiring begins in March.
The Tejon Ranch Commerce Center is Tejon Ranch Company’s 1,450-acre master planned commercial/industrial development located at the junction of Interstate 5 and Highway 99, at the southern end of California’s San Joaquin Valley – the gateway to Central California’s Golden Empire. The Commerce Center is already home to major distribution centers for IKEA and Famous Footwear and last month, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), announced it was purchasing 46 acres at the site to build a 400,000-square-foot parts distribution facility.
“We are excited to welcome Dollar General to the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center,” said Robert A. Stine, president and CEO of Tejon Ranch Company. “Following on the heels of the Caterpillar transaction, Dollar General’s decision to locate here is further validation of the Commerce Center’s premier status as one of California’s best and most strategic locations for distribution.”
“The Rockefeller Group would also like to welcome Dollar General to the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center,” said Tom McCormick, senior vice president for Rockefeller Group Development Corporation. “We see signs that consumer confidence is increasing and that will buoy the industrial market as goods begin to move. Dollar General will be strategically positioned to take advantage of that confidence.”
Tejon Ranch Company and Rockefeller are joint venture partners on up to 500 acres within the Commerce Center, including the warehouse facility being leased by Dollar General. The building already has an existing tenant who will share use of the facility with Dollar General. The acreage has also been designated as a Foreign Trade Zone.
The Tejon Ranch Company/Rockefeller partnership was represented in the transaction by Doug Sonderegger, Executive Vice President of CBRE. Dollar General Corporation was represented by Joseph J. Howell and Brett B. Spitzer, Executive Vice Presidents of NAI Global, and Chad Brock, President of NAI Central Cal. The Kern Economic Development Corporation also assisted Dollar General and provided important information during its site selection process.
