His focus is to remain in Idaho and to continue to dominate the local market as the leader in building Class “A” industrial properties. But Mike Adler, CEO and founder of Adler Industrial, LLC, is no stranger when it comes to venturing out of state to construct the right project.
At a Glance:
Adler Industrial delivers a 163,000-square-foot Class A industrial facility in Fresno, California
Project expands Coast Aluminum‘s long-standing Central Valley operations and adds up to 100 jobs
$42 million state-of-the-art facility includes flexible space for future sublease revenue
Adler remains focused on dominating Idaho’s Class A industrial market while building selectively out of state
“Typically, such a scenario happens with companies who have good long-term planning strategies,” Adler said.
Coast Aluminum, Inc., with a facility located on Norco Way in Nampa, qualifies as one such company.
In 2024, Adler’s firm delivered an 80,000-square-foot facility for the company. Recently, they broke ground on a second site, more than double in size at 163,000 square feet, in the confines of the Central Valley in Fresno, California.
“Our relationship started with the Nampa project, which was the first building we built for them,” he said. “It was a great collaboration, and when they needed a new facility they came to us and asked us to build it.
“It’s an important expansion for them since they have been in Fresno since 1993. And this expansion will help them add about 100 more jobs across the board.”
Owner Tom Clark founded and began operating his Fresno site in 1993. The location represents the first building he ever owned and developed.
“This expansion represents not only growth, but a continued investment in our people, our customers, and the Fresno community that’s been part of our story from the beginning,” Clark said.
One intentional design aspect of the state-of-the-art, $42 million property — including land acquisition, development, construction and equipment — is that roughly one-fifth, or 30,000 square feet of the new site will be readily available for sublease upon completion. Space not utilized by Coast Aluminum at this time can be rented out, providing an additional revenue stream.
“Coast Aluminum is continually growing, and they’ve now taken the approach that rather than taking occupancy on a building they need today, they asked us to build a building larger than what they need,” Adler said.
With decades of experience building in the industrial arena, Adler simply referred to the project design as “forward thinking” on behalf of Coast Aluminum. “It’s not uncommon for companies that have signed a long-term lease with us to come back two to three years later asking to build more space because they have outgrown what they have.”
Building up or building out, Adler, who moved to Idaho in 2018, is not unfamiliar when it comes to crossing state lines, having owned and constructed properties throughout the western U.S. for more than two decades. In fact, the first project he built in Idaho happened while he was in the midst of operating his firm in Southern California.
Mike Adler, CEO of Adler Industrial, LLC, speaks during a press conference in Fresno, California. (PHOTO: ADLER INDUSTRIAL)
And whether local or out of state, Adler believes the logistics of a project will always come together solidly when involving the right players.
“The importance is having the right team. When we started moving forward with the Fresno project, we used Ware Malcomb, a strong architectural firm based out of California to do the design,” he said. “And then there was JB Steel Construction, a general contractor out of Oregon with a long history of building in California.”
In a press release celebrating the groundbreaking ceremony for the Freson site, Russ Batzer, president of JB Steel, called it an “honor” to help bring this project to life.
“Coast Aluminum’s new facility combines efficiency, quality and flexibility, everything we strive for in modern industrial design,” Batzer said. “By partnering with local subcontractors, we’re not only constructing a building, but also strengthening the fabric of the local workforce.”
And specializing in Class “A” industrial properties is Adler’s specialty. The new Fresno location will feature what he called a “best in-class warehouse,” including better insulation, motion-sensor LED lighting, a taller ceiling clearance and loading docks with more height for large trucks to navigate.
“This means this building is designed to be the state-of-the-art industrial building within the market,” he said. “It has all modern amenities and construction techniques. It is designed to be more environmentally friendly.
“We try to build for the future, and I don’t want to have a building that becomes obsolete 10 years from now. We want to ensure that what we build will last a long time.”
Another friendly and familiar feature in the building process is that Cliff Long, the former economic development director for the city of Nampa during the time the first Coast Aluminum site was constructed, now serves in the same pivotal role in Fresno.
Long was touted as an “expert in “driving business expansion, infrastructure development and fostering regional collaboration” in a press release announcing his arrival in Fresno earlier this year.
“He understood the needs of the user, and what was needed to help get the project through the city,” Adler said. “So, that was very helpful.”
Despite having built other projects in California’s Central Valley, this project represents the first time Adler’s firm dealt directly with the City of Fresno.
“The city has been great to work with. They’ve been collaborative, responsive, they’re pro-business,” he said. “Other cities in California can be more difficult, and that is all I am going to say about that.”
A rendering of the future Coast Aluminum site to be built in Fresno, California. (PHOTO: ADLER INDUSTRIAL)
The Fresno project is slated to take about a year, with an expected completion date targeted between October and November of 2026. Construction began within weeks of closing escrow.
“It was a very quick start, and we were able to ramp up and mobilize quite efficiently,” Adler said. “The great thing about working with a city that allows you to start a project quicker, it helps get the investment out into the community a lot faster.”
And that’s good news for Clark, whose initial launch of Coast Aluminum took place more than four decades previously in Hayward, California. “We started our company in Hayward in 1982, and Fresno became our first branch in 1993,” he said. “It was also the first building I owned and developed, the same one we’ll soon be moving from into this brand-new facility.”
“Tom and the Coast Aluminum leadership were truly excellent partners on this project and one of the reasons we were able to get it started so quickly,” Adler said.
While undeterred from going out of state for the right project, Adler, like Clark, knows and understands the value of developing and building high-quality, long-lasting facilities on a local scale.
“We will go to other states where our clients are based. But we’ve had quite a few national clients that, because of our scale, will go with us to construct their projects here in the Treasure Valley,” Adler said. “Most of the large, national industrial businesses that come to town, we’re building for them.”
Some familiar clients who have utilized Adler’s firm include Black Market Gelato, Frito Lay, Amazon and even Ferguson plumbing supply.
“Right now, we are primarily focused on the Treasure Valley,” he said. “We have one project we’ll be starting in Idaho Falls, but we’re building in Boise, Meridian and Nampa. We’ve had great experiences in these cities. But we will go to other states where our clients are based.”
To date, Adler Industrial owns and manages more than 4 million square feet of building space in the Treasure Valley. During the past 18 months, the firm has designed and constructed 13 industrial buildings totaling more than 1.3 million square feet of Class “A” space locally.
Adler left Los Angeles for Boise after developing a portfolio of local properties, while filled with a desire to escape the metropolis of Southern California. He knows well that growth is going to happen, but also firmly believes in “smart” growth.
“We are definitely selective on the tenants that we put into our facilities,” he said. “We really lean to companies in manufacturing and distribution and research and development. Companies that will brin good jobs and services to the region.”
Though he studied at the University of Denver and subsequently spent roughly two decades in the greater Los Angeles area, Adler still prefers the small-town, quieter lifestyle offered here in Idaho.
But at the same time, he recognizes those years he spent in the big-city environment have provided him a big advantage in leading a firm considered the largest of its type statewide, and whose name is synonymous with Class “A” industrial development.
“The experience I have acquired and that of the people within our company, that is what helps us to build and manage what we consider to be top-of-the-line properties within the market,” he said.