Karma Automotive (Fisker) to open Factory in Moreno Valley, CA
The current Karma Automotive has agreed to rent a new 556,000-square-foot industrial building at 17100 Perris Blvd., according to real estate broker Ian DeVries of Colliers International, who represented landlord First Industrial Realty Trust in the deal. The structure is attractive for operating an assembly line, because it is rectangular and 1,600 feet long, he said.
The neighborhood is home to fulfillment centers for large retailers including Amazon, Procter & Gamble and Walgreens, DeVries said, but not many products are actually built there.
“This is one of the first manufacturing deals there of any significance,” said DeVries, who noted the company is trying to open the factory as soon as possible.
The city of Moreno Valley said that it expects 150 jobs will be created at the factory. Those jobs will be a welcome addition to the Inland Empire, where 46% of residents are not educated beyond high school, economist John Housing said.
California has added only 35,000 manufacturing jobs since 2010, less than 4% of the national total of 875,000 jobs, Housing said. One reason for the small showing from such a populous state is that California electricity costs are the highest in the country and 156% higher than Nevada’s electricity prices.
Moreno Valley controls its own utility and was able to offer incentives that could allow Karma to temporarily reduce its electricity costs about 25%, City Manager Michelle Dawson said. The city of 200,000 had unemployment of more than 16% during the economic downturn and wooed the carmaker, Dawson said.
“We were among the communities that were hardest hit,” she said. “This news is huge for us.”