Crews raise walls at Commerce Pointe business park

Construction crews raise the first wall at the Commerce Pointe business park on Zeiders Road Tuesday morning. Photos by Kassen Klein

The first walls were set in place Tuesday at Commerce Pointe, the City of Menifee's first business park project. The 825,000-square-foot facility will be made up of two adjacent business parks bordered by the 215 Freeway to the east, Zeiders Road to the west and located south of Scott Road.

The project, in the planning stages for more than a decade, will accommodate about 50 buildings designed for manufacturing and business use.

Paving of a dirt section of Zeiders Road was one of the first improvements related to the project. More recently, sewer and electrical lines have been brought in from Scott Road in preparation for the park.

Dennis Fitzpatrick, project development manager for PacTen Partners, said during the 2015 groundbreaking for the project that it is designed to benefit local business owners.

"This will not be a distribution center," Fitzpatrick said at the time. "This will be a place for medium size businesses owned by people who live in town and for those looking for a good place for their workforce."

Menifee City Councilman Matt Liesemeyer expressed enthusiasm about the project in a Facebook posting on Tuesday.

"The first panels are flying up at Commerce Pointe," Liesemeyer wrote. "This is just the beginning of over 800,000 square feet of class-A industrial that is badly needed in this region.

"About 10 years ago, there was a vision, and today I am proud to say it's becoming a reality. With the help of Kassen Klein Consulting, congratulations to PacTen Partners, Stonemark Construction Management and to the City of Menifee for its newest industrial park! This is just the first step to a lot of change coming to this part of town."

Commerce Pointe will consist of two adjacent business parks, the first ever in Menifee.

An aerial photo taken before the start of construction shows the location of Commerce Pointe.