Downtown Los Angeles, the region’s largest industrial real estate market, contains nearly as much industrial space as the entire San Gabriel Valley. Besides its huge size, it is also tremendously diverse. Its buildings range from large manufacturing facilities to small one-story buildings, and its tenants range from traditional users such as produce, toy, apparel and jewelry companies to cutting-edge new media ventures. Strong demand, eventual completion of the Alameda Corridor transit project and scant developable land are all factors that should keep this area vibrant in the months and years ahead.

The L.A. region’s second-largest industrial market, Carson/Compton/Rancho Dominguez, is enjoying the spillover demand from trade-related warehouse/distribution companies that would prefer to be in Long Beach but can’t find space there. The demand is causing a short-term availability problem, but developers are responding with several new projects. Among the largest is Watson Land Co.’s 301,000-square-foot speculative project, which is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter.

The core of the sprawling San Gabriel Valley industrial portfolio is in the Industry/West Covina/La Puente area, the L.A. region’s third-largest industrial market. It is home to various distribution companies and computer-related operations, many of which have ties to Asia. It is also the site of plenty of industrial development activity, with the largest project being the 1.4 million-square-foot Plantation Business Center.