Business & money
Real estate, manufacturing and logistics, tribal economy, wine country, capital markets — the business of California's Inland corridor.
From the Long Read
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Walmart pays $223M for the Riverside cold-storage building it's leased since 2010
ConnectCRE: About $440 a square foot for the 507,000 sf temperature-controlled plant on Columbia Avenue — a tenant turning owner in a cold-storage market where demand keeps outrunning supply.
Embarc opens Riverside's first dispensary on Magnolia Avenue
The Raincross Gazette: Nearly a decade after California legalized cannabis, Riverside finally has a storefront — and a one-per-ward cap, down from a planned 14, that keeps the rollout slow. A second Embarc is planned for University Avenue.
Temecula wineries face a May 31 deadline under California's new packaging law
Hinman & Carmichael: Glass bottles and cans are exempt under the Bottle Bill, but the shipping boxes and plastic wrap wineries use to move product are covered — and producers must register or file for an exemption by May 31.
Ontario Airport Hotel rebrands as Hyatt Regency, targets December opening
Hyatt Regency: The Ontario Airport Hotel & Conference Center is becoming a Hyatt Regency following a property-wide renovation. The redesign includes 284 guestrooms, a new Mediterranean restaurant called Lozano, 22,000 square feet of meeting space, and a heated pool. Completion is targeted for December 2026.
IE warehouse vacancy hit 7.8% in the first quarter
Moreno Valley's Villa Annette refinances with a $46M bridge loan
ConnectCRE: The loan retires construction debt and returns equity to the borrower on a newly built 220-unit complex — a clean exit from the build phase rather than a sale.
China-based 3PL takes a 500,000 sf Ontario warehouse that sat vacant two years
MacLeod & Co.: The building sat empty nearly two years because most large tenants chase 32-to-40-foot ceilings; this 3PL runs fine at 30-foot clear — and the terms (large free rent, a big TI allowance, a below-market rate) read like a tenant's market.
Assembly votes 67-0 to require 100% U.S. grapes in "American" wine
Skechers ends Moreno Valley temp-staffing contract; 725 workers laid off
SoCal ports cleared 6.49 million TEUs in 2026's first four months
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association: Combined San Pedro Bay container traffic ran 11–32% above pre-pandemic 2019 through April, even as analysts had forecast year-over-year declines.
Moreno Valley's 220-unit Villa Annette draws $46M bridge refi from Dwight
ConnectCRE: Dwight Mortgage Trust supplies a fresh bridge on the newly built lease-up property; proceeds retire construction debt and return equity to repeat sponsor Latco Enterprises.
Walmart, Clarion buy IE big-box warehouses as vacancy hits 8.5%
Cushman & Wakefield IE MarketBeat: Five big-box sales closed in Q1, each over 390,000 sf. Walmart paid $220 psf for a 507,000-sf Riverside box; Clarion bought a million-sf building from LACERA for $140M.
Six IE hospitals on Becker's zero-CAUTI list
Becker's Hospital Review: Six IE corridor hospitals are among 508 nationwide that posted zero catheter-associated UTIs in CMS data.
Closing IE's degree gap is worth $1 trillion, Georgetown says. A local economist disagrees.
IE Business Daily: Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce projects a $1 trillion gain for the IE economy if 70% of working-age adults across all demographic groups held a credential. Jay Prag of the Drucker School says the IE jobs base can't absorb that many degree holders.
Morongo backs Cherry Festival with $300K
Morongo Nation: The tribe gave $300,000 to the Cherries of the Pass Foundation to support the May 28-31 festival in Beaumont, continuing a recurring sponsorship of one of the Pass area's signature events.
Ontario Welcome Center launches Visit California accessibility initiative
Inland Empire Magazine: Greater Ontario Convention & Visitors Bureau picked as launchpad for the statewide accessibility tourism push.
ONT freight grows 15% in March; passenger growth hits four-month streak
Inland Empire Business Journal: First-quarter passenger volume up 4.1% and air freight tonnage up 12.7% year-over-year at Ontario International Airport.
San Bernardino Starbucks sells in $8.14M two-property package
Inland Empire Business Journal: Hanley Investment Group brokered the two-property deal; only the San Bernardino property is in the IE.
Pollo Campero ground lease in Lake Elsinore sells for $2.93M
Inland Empire Business Journal: Hanley Investment Group calls it a near four-year low cap rate benchmark.
Wienerschnitzel building in Ontario sells for $2.8M
Inland Empire Business Daily: Private investor buys the 2,700 sf free-standing building at 4605 Mills Circle.