Ridge Property Trust, a Chicago-based REIT specializing in industrial property development and management, has announced plans for Perris Ridge Commerce Center, a two-phase project on 187 acres that will offer nearly four million square feet of prime industrial space in Perris, Calif.

The company recently closed this week on 98 acres of land to complete the acquisition process for the site, located just four miles south of last month’s groundbreaking of Ridge’s 3 million square foot Centerpointe Business Park project. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Located at the intersection of I-215 and the Ramona Expressway, the first phase, Perris Ridge Commerce Center I, will be comprised of two buildings with 1.31 million square feet and 600,000 square feet of space. The second phase, Perris Ridge Commerce Center II, adjacent to the first phase, will feature two buildings as well, with 1,252,000 square feet and 780,000 square feet.

The Perris Ridge Commerce Center’s proximity to the I-215 will provide the perfect hub for access to Ontario International Airport, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Los Angeles basin, and San Diego.

“The time to find affordable, large parcels of land in the Los Angeles basin and the Inland Empire West has come and gone. But demand only continues to increase and Ridge’s growth strategy capitalizes on the Inland Empire East for affordable land and a deep labor pool,” said Dennis Rice, president of Ridge Property Trust. “Tesco was the first to choose the area and they certainly will not be the last major name to take advantage of what the region has to offer.”

Ridge plans to break ground on the first building of the project within the next six months once the entitlement process is complete. The first building should be ready for occupancy by the third quarter of 2007 and the entire project completed by the end of 2008.

Ridge Property Trust is expanding its presence in the Inland Empire and currently is developing $350 million of projects on more than 350 acres of property in Moreno Valley and Perris. In July, construction began on the Centerpointe Business Park, a $150 million project on 162 acres of prime land north of Perris along the I-215 Corridor.

Upon completion, it will feature more than three million square feet of prime industrial space in state-of-the-art buildings, varying in size and configuration.

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