Home > CA > Victorville > Education, Careers & Opportunity > Victor Valley, CA Attracts Big Distribution Companies

Victor Valley, CA Attracts Big Distribution Companies

Discover why assets like Global Access Victorville are making distribution in Victor Valley, CA a growth industry.

By Kevin Litwin on May 24, 2017

Victor Valley has become a prime destination for distribution companies for a variety of reasons, including affordable property, ample sites and buildings, and proximity to the major seaports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Companies like Mars Inc., Red Bull and Walmart operate distribution centers in the Victor Valley area because they can reach 20 million people and most Western markets within a three-hour drive.

The region is also served by Class I rail carriers BNSF and Union Pacific and offers access to major highways including Interstate 15, State Route 18 and proximity to U.S. Route 395, I-40, I-10 and I-215. In addition, the region is home to Global Access Victorville, the 8,500-acre former George Air Force Base that today houses the Southern California Logistics Centre (SCLC) commercial and industrial complex and the Southern California Logistics Airport (SCLA) air cargo and aviation facility. The airport bills itself as having 360 days of “severe clear” weather and offers a Foreign Trade Zone that allows for the duty-free movement of goods.

Plans are also under way for the Southern California Rail Complex at the SCLC, a 3,500-acre intermodal and multimodal center that will feature rail service for tenant companies, says Anita Tuckerman, vice president of asset services and corporate relations with California-based Stirling Capital Investments, which is developing Global Access Victorville with the City of Victorville.

Welcome, Big Lots

Companies in the region also have access to several other business/industrial sites. For example, February 2017 saw the Town of Apple Valley approve a project for national retailer Big Lots to construct a $120 million, 1.3 million-square-foot distribution facility in the North Apple Valley Industrial Specific Plan area near I-15 and Apple Valley Airport. The Big Lots project is scheduled to break ground in late 2017 and will ultimately create 300 to 400 warehousing positions. The distribution hub will allow Big Lots to grow its e-commerce markets throughout the West Coast. Big Lots will build its warehouse across the road from where Walmart has successfully operated a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center since 2004.

“Walmart’s success here and the upcoming Big Lots venture will help get the word out that Apple Valley is a prime industrial location with ample space and lower costs,” says Orlando Acevedo, Apple Valley executive director of economic development and housing. “We hope the Big Lots news will open the floodgates for much more industrial development in our region.”

Apple Valley offers a fast-track administrative process to help companies tackle environmental impact guidelines,  assisting prospective industrial tenants to partially offset state tax and regulatory burdens, Acevedo says. That assistance is one reason site location analysts like The Boyd Co., Kosmont Cos. and the Rose Institute of State and Local Government rank Apple Valley among the most business friendly cities in California.

Road Warriors

Victor Valley is in San Bernardino County, and statistics show that distribution is the county’s largest industry, with about 80,000 workers employed in that sector. However, transportation is not only important to the region’s logistics companies, but to area residents as well. Area voters have passed and re-passed Measure I, which is a half-cent sales tax through 2040 with money going toward transportation upgrades such as freeway interchanges, grade-separation projects and bridges. T

he federal government will invest about $5.4 billion through 2040 toward transportation infrastructure in San Bernardino County. Some recently completed road infrastructure projects in Victor Valley include a new I-15/I-215 Devore Interchange that improves traffic flow in Devore and the Yucca Luma Bridge over the Mojave River that connects Apple Valley with Victorville. Planning is in the works for the High Desert Corridor, which would connect the Victor Valley with the Los Angeles area via a 63-mile expressway.  

Array ( [0] => 171490 [1] => 171417 [2] => 171387 [3] => 171352 [4] => 170990 [5] => 153843 )
Array ( )
Array ( )
Array ( [0] => 171490 [1] => 171417 [2] => 171387 [3] => 171352 [4] => 170990 [5] => 153843 )

More To Read

Newsletter Sign Up

Keep up to date with our latest rankings and articles!
Enter your email to be added to our mailing list.