Ross Stores Buys Distribution Center
Off-price retailer Ross Stores Inc., based in Pleasanton, Calif., has acquired a nearly 700,000-square-foot distribution facility in Moreno Valley, Calif., for $38.2 million, reported Los Angeles–based CB Richard Ellis Inc., the commercial real estate firm that brokered the transaction.
Ross will expand the facility, known as the Eastgate Business Center, into a 1.4 million-square-foot distribution facility to complement the 1 million-square-foot center it operates in Perris, Calif., about one-half mile away.
The retailer, which operates Ross Dress for Less stores, acquired the property from Atlanta-based Industrial Developments International. Aside from the Eastgate center, the transaction also includes 28 acres of vacant land, which Ross will use for expansion.
Two years ago, Ross relocated its distribution and warehousing operation to Southern California from Northern California to be closer to its growing store base, which now spans 663 units in 26 states.
CB Richard Ellis officials said land scarcity and the distribution centers set up by Walgreen Co. and Lowe’s Cos. Inc. have given the Moreno Valley/Perris real estate market more viability. International Developments is also planning a business park about one-half mile south of the new Ross property, which it will build over 82 acres, CB Richard Ellis officials said. —Robert McAllister
