A joint venture between Elevation Land Co. And a fund advised by Crow Holdings Capital has finished Phase I of Otay Business Park, a 119-acre industrial and logistics campus in San Diego's Otay Mesa submarket, according to REBusinessOnline. Our earlier coverage of the project, originally reported by REBusinessOnline, also flagged the cross-border angle. The developers are betting that the last piece of highway before Mexico will eventually be one of the most logistics-critical intersections on the West Coast.
At full build-out the project is set to deliver roughly 1.8 million square feet of industrial space, anchored by direct access to State Route 11 and the planned Otay East Port of Entry. Dempsey Construction is the general contractor, Ware Malcomb handled design, and Cushman & Wakefield's Brant Aberg and Ryan Downing are handling leasing.
At a glance
- Phase I of Otay Business Park is complete, delivered by Elevation Land Co. And a Crow Holdings Capital-advised fund.
- The campus covers 119 acres across two phases in San Diego's Otay Mesa.
- Full build-out targets 1.8 million square feet of industrial and logistics space.
- The site sits along Siempre Viva Road and State Route 11, the last highway exit before the Otay East U.S./Mexico Port of Entry.
- The first phase of that new port of entry is slated to open in late 2027.
Why this location, why this product
Otay Mesa has been a quiet workhorse of Southern California's industrial market for years. Proximity to the existing Otay Mesa crossing already pulls cross-border trucking, maquiladora supply chains and cold-storage demand south of the I-8 corridor. State Route 11 was designed as a dedicated freight connector to a future second port, effectively creating a second truck-only gateway and relieving pressure on the older crossing. That is the structural tailwind Elevation and Crow Holdings are underwriting.
From a real estate fundamentals angle, this is a pure play on industrial and logistics: large floor plates, clear heights aimed at modern tenants, and a submarket where vacancy has historically tracked tighter than the wider San Diego market because usable land is scarce. Phase I hits the market at a moment when institutional appetite for stabilized logistics product is selective but yield-driven, and where a port-adjacent location is one of the few genuine differentiators left.
Our analysis
For investors, the interesting question is not whether a large two-phase campus in Otay Mesa will lease. At this size, in this submarket, it almost certainly will, in pieces. The interesting question is rent, term and tenant mix.
The first phase of the new Otay East crossing is slated to open in late 2027. That timeline is the single biggest variable in the underwriting. If the port opens on schedule, Otay Business Park effectively becomes a last-mile-from-the-border facility for importers, 3PLs and near-shoring manufacturers relocating production to Baja. If the timeline slips, the developers are relying on existing Otay Mesa demand to carry the asset until the catalyst arrives.
Cross-border logistics is also a sector where political and trade-policy risk overlays real-estate risk in a way most U.S. Industrial parks do not face. Tariff regimes, customs staffing levels and nearshoring momentum can swing effective demand more than interest rates can. That cuts both ways: it is the reason the rents here can command a premium, and the reason a tenant doing a long-term deal is making a bet on bilateral trade policy, not just on warehousing throughput.
Compared with a generic large industrial park in the Inland Empire, the Otay site is structurally lower-risk on tenant credit (customs brokers, 3PLs, cold-chain operators with regional headquarters nearby) but higher-risk on macro. The trade is worth it for a sponsor with a long-duration fund, less obvious for a shorter-cycle vehicle.
A worked example
Say you run a discretionary real estate fund and are looking at a large BTS requirement from a cross-border 3PL. You have an option in Carlsbad at a lower rent, and you have space at Otay Business Park at a meaningful premium. The Carlsbad building saves you rent but adds measurable drive time per truck round trip to the existing Otay Mesa crossing. Once you model that, plus the optionality of being close to a future second port, the premium often pencils. If your tenant is a domestic last-mile operator with no Mexico exposure, the math flips the other way.
What to watch next
The single thing to track is the Otay East Port of Entry opening timeline. Late 2027 is the current target and everything in this deal from rent comps to exit cap rate depends on it. Watch for federal appropriations tied to the new crossing, State Route 11 tolling decisions, and any pre-leasing announcements from customs brokers or cold-chain operators near the Siempre Viva corridor. If Phase I leases at a clear premium to comparable Otay Mesa product before groundbreaking on Phase II, that is the cleanest signal the market believes the port will open on time.
Key takeaways
- Otay Business Park is a logistics-first bet priced off a future second border crossing, not just today's Otay Mesa demand.
- Phase I of the new Otay East Port of Entry, slated for late 2027, is the swing variable for rents, occupancy and exit pricing.
- Investors should underwrite cross-border policy risk alongside usual industrial fundamentals.
Frequently asked questions
Who developed Otay Business Park?
A joint venture between Elevation Land Co. And a real estate fund advised by Crow Holdings Capital, with Dempsey Construction as general contractor and Ware Malcomb as designer.
How big is the project at full build-out?
The two-phase, 119-acre campus is set to deliver about 1.8 million square feet of industrial and logistics space.
Why is the Otay Mesa location strategically important?
It sits on Siempre Viva Road at State Route 11, the last highway exit before the planned Otay East U.S./Mexico Port of Entry, whose first phase is slated to open in late 2027.
Who is leasing the project?
Brant Aberg and Ryan Downing of Cushman & Wakefield are marketing the property for lease.
What is the main risk for investors in this deal?
The Otay East Port of Entry opening timeline and broader U.S.-Mexico trade policy, since rent and exit assumptions depend heavily on the new crossing operating on schedule.