Home Depot Takes 1.1M SF in Southern California – Commercial Observer

The biggest home improvement retailer in the country is getting bigger after signing a lease for a massive Class A warehouse in the hottest industrial market in the United States.

Home Depot will occupy a 1.1 million-square-foot structure in the master-planned Ontario Ranch community in Southern California’s Inland Empire, according to a recent report from Savills. It’s located at SEC Eucalyptus Avenue and Euclid Avenue in Ontario, Calif.

The property is owned and was developed by Clarion Partners. Neither the landlord nor the tenant were immediately available for comment, including regarding the rent in the lease.

The 52.5-acre site is part of the first phase of a master plan that includes seven buildings totaling 1.7 million square feet. The second phase includes an additional six buildings with 1.5 million square feet. The total development spans 140 acres.

Ontario Ranch is near other distribution centers for major companies like Amazon, Walmart, FedEx and Kenco. Southern California — including the Inland Empire, Los Angeles County, Orange County and up to Ventura County — has 1.3 billion square feet of industrial space with another 42.5 million square feet under construction, according to Savills. But demand is so strong that the vacancy rate for industrial real estate in the region dropped to 1.6 percent after the first quarter. The average asking rental rate also shot up 20 percent in the past year.

Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.