The pandemic related worker shortages and increases in material cost and environmental concerns necessitating extra studies and hearings were among the issues that slowed down the creation of the Alameda Industrial Park, a $50 million project with four industrial buildings spread across 12.9 acres in Vernon.
The venture began 12 years ago when a number of companies joined to form Pima, which purchased the land for $18 million.
Pima is a collaboration between four Korean American-owned manufacturing companies: Poetry Enterprise, Impact Manufacturing Corp., Miss Me and Active USA Inc.
“It was too big a lot for just one company to develop,” Don Rhee, Active’s chief executive, said through a translator about why the companies worked together on the project. All four knew one another prior to creating Pima.
Rhee said he originally expected the project to take closer to three years to develop, not more than a decade.
Pico Rivera-based CEG Construction worked with Pima to develop the space. It wrapped earlier this year and has since been divided into four separate properties, with each of the companies making up Pima taking one building.
Streamlining operations
Active has a long history in L.A. The company was founded locally in 1989, initially as a fabric company. Today, it creates women’s and junior’s apparel and has a presence in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the company. During the 1992 Los Angeles Riots its headquarters and warehouse were burned down.
Today, Active has a showroom in the Fashion District in addition to its new warehouse space, which can hold 1 million items.
Albert Rhee, son of Don Rhee and Active’s sales director, said the warehouse space was built to be very clean and organized, which was his dad’s “philosophy in business.”
Richard Lucas, CEG’s vice president of construction, added that Don Rhee was very involved in the process and made sure that a high-end warehouse space was constructed.
“I’ve never worked with an owner who was so detail oriented,” he said.
Active still has its showroom in the Fashion District, which Albert Rhee said is “the largest showroom in the L.A. Fashion District.”
Prior to creating the Alameda Industrial Park, the company had to rent warehouse spaces. Albert Rhee said one of the benefits of building its own property was the ability to “consolidate our stock,” which helps make things more efficient.
The building also has office space and a photo studio.
Albert Rhee said that while the company currently has no plans to expand, “this facility has allowed us the option to expand” in the future.
