Category: New Location

If built out as planned, the center would put 8.9 million square feet of warehousing and distribution buildings about three miles north of 7th Standard Road in a vicinity with no such land uses.

Local industrial specialist Wayne Kress, who was familiar with the project but does not represent the owner, said the space is needed because interest in Kern is accelerating.

“They’re coming, so it’s a matter of how we plan for them. We don’t want to just randomize the area,” said Kress, executive director at Cushman & Wakefield in Bakersfield.

The property is owned by longtime table grape grower Steven Gilfenbain, who has hired a consultant to lead the development through an entitlement process that includes zoning changes, county General Plan amendments and an environmental review.

Consultant Justin Murray said Monday that Gilfenbain, former CEO of Grapeman Farms, wants to convert the property to industrial use in light of challenges related to irrigation water scarcity, difficult grape market conditions “and given how industrial use in that area is kind of coming toward the property.”

Indeed it is: The Wonderful Co. has found success developing a large logistics center in nearby Shafter that it plans to expand substantially. Meanwhile, Amazon is operating a massive distribution facility in Oildale, and Tejon Ranch Co. continues to build out its own industrial hub at the foot of the Grapevine.

The idea is for Malibu Vineyards to partner with a developer or sell parts of the property once it’s been fully entitled, Murray explained. He noted the project and its potentially two dozen buildings have a 20-year horizon.

He added that work lately has focused on how to cushion the project’s impact on local air quality.

The project was expected to face a final vote by the Board of Supervisors on March 24. But Director Craig Murphy of the county Planning and Natural Resources Department said hitting that date looks unlikely because his staff is still preparing responses to public comments on the proposal. His guess Monday was that the board won’t get a chance to vote on the project until April or May.

Public reception of the proposal has been similar to that of other land-use projects, Murphy said, adding that, “in general, I think it’s a good location for a project.”

“It’s just a question of making sure we’ve gone through our analysis properly, we’ve answered the questions that get brought up,” he said.

Kress agreed the location “seems to make sense. We’re in the path of growth.”

He estimated that, if approved, the project’s first tenants might not move in for perhaps five years. Before that can happen, roads, curbs and gutters need to be built.

The project’s execution stage will be critical, Kress said, because success requires a competent team of professionals to carry out the vision.

It could be that the project would fill up with just 10 or fewer large tenants rather than 24, he said. Either way, the development would go head-to-head with other distribution centers around the county.

“Next question is, will (Gilfenbain) be viable to compete?” Kress asked.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/large-industrial-park-proposed-on-east-side-of-highway-99-north-of-7th-standard-road/article_08665da8-5d35-433a-b582-1ee6cb7b4fe6.html