By Faughn Tourism 0 Comments

Wind Wolves Preserve: Try this Central California option when Sequoia is a challenge

Winter can be a magical time to visit Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in Central California: Snow dusts the branches of the mighty ponderosa pines, firs and sequoias; crowds are scarce; and designated meadows and trails present near-perfect sledding and snowshoeing opportunities. But winter also means weather-related road closures, including key arteries such as Generals Highway, which connects the two parks, and Highway 180 between Grant Grove and Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon. This year, visitors will find even more closures due to ferocious fires that swept the area in 2021, burning more than 88,000 acres and destroying an estimated 3 to 5 percent of the world’s mature giant sequoias. All indoor lodging options, including the Wuksachi and John Muir lodges, remain closed indefinitely, and food-service options are limited.

There are advantages to visiting the parks now: Sequoia’s Giant Forest, home to the landmark 275-foot-high General Sherman Tree, has reopened on a limited basis from Friday through Monday. Popular trails such as Congress and Moro Rock remain open, although traction shoes and poles are recommended because of the snowy and icy conditions. If you go, consider a weekend stay in a cabin or motel in the town of Three Rivers near the south entrance. Get to the park early to avoid traffic; bring food, water and tire chains; and stick to paths that are open and deemed safe by park rangers. Also, brace yourself for scenery that includes charred trees and denuded hillsides. “There are definitely places where visual evidence of the fire will be with us for quite some time,” said Rebecca Paterson, a National Park Service public affairs specialist.

Wind Wolves Preserve, about 30 miles south of Bakersfield and about 120 miles from Sequoia’s southern reaches, offers an outdoor experience that is quite different from Sequoia’s lush forests and rivers — yet it’s just as extraordinary and is typically easier to plan for this time of year. Surrounded by oil fields and almond and orange groves, the 93,000-acre preserve is an ecological oasis of open grasslands, saltbush shrubs, riparian wetlands, and native plants and wildlife. A surprisingly robust creek and 15-foot limestone waterfall sit near the main trailheads, while juniper and pinyon forests, oak woodlands, ponderosa pine and bigcone spruce trees can be found in its southern reaches.

A former cattle ranch that dates to the mid-1800s, Wind Wolves takes its name not from resident canines, but from the tall grasses that cover its hills and resemble running animals. The nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy bought the land in 1996 to provide vital habitat to endangered species, such as the San Joaquin kit fox, and rare species, including the tule elk, and to address the “dire need for equitable access to outdoor spaces” in California’s rural Central Valley, said Melissa Dabulamanzi, the preserve manager. With an elevation range that stretches from 640 to 6,000 feet, Wind Wolves offers a year-round network of well-maintained (and dog-friendly) hiking and biking trails, as well as group and individual campsites with potable water and picnic tables. Despite its proximity to the Interstate 5 corridor, Wind Wolves attracts a modest 60,000 to 80,000 visitors every year, according to Dabulamanzi. In contrast, Sequoia and Kings Canyon drew 1.2 million visitors in 2020.

Unlike Sequoia, Wind Wolves Preserve isn’t prone to weather-related closures, although summers can be scorching hot. Winter and spring, when California poppies, grape soda lupine and yellow monolopia often blanket the hills, are good times to visit. The popular San Emigdio Canyon Trail is a leisurely 3.8-mile hike, with creek access and picnic areas. For a hardier workout, check out Tule Elk Trail, a nine-mile loop that leads to a lookout with stunning vistas highlighting the preserve’s diversity. “It’s such a cool vantage point,” Dabulamanzi said. “You have the lush riparian habitat of [San] Emigdio Canyon below, there are the hills to the north and the Los Padres mountains to the south. On a clear day, you can even see the Eastern Sierras.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/02/23/wind-wolves-preserve-central-california/

By Faughn Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Merced dairy turning cow manure into renewable energy

A Merced dairy is converting cow waste into renewable energy. Eileen Martinho works for Maas Energy Works and tells us how it’s done. “This is a dairy digester cluster project, where each dairy is a digester on their facility,” she said. “Then, they are sending methane gas from their digester, which is the purpose of the digester, is to collect the methane gas off of the manure.” After the manure is collected from thousands of cows, a special contraption called a Digester is used to help create renewable natural gas or “biomethane” before it’s sent back through a pipeline to one central location.

Local dairy producer Alex Dejager was hesitant when he was first approached about this project, not knowing the benefits or what it would turn into almost two years later. “Maas Energy came to us, basically knocked on our door and said we have a big dream of doing a project out here to capture emissions from 15,16 different dairies in one little area, pipeline it all to on essential area and basically move that gas to PG&E, and we kind of all laughed at him,” he said.

Approximately 55 percent of California’s methane emissions come from dairies and livestock and after learning more about the good this project can bring, Dejager quickly became involved and he believes more California farmers will have to do the same to stay financially sustainable. “If you think of one milking cow, it equates to taking one car off the road each year,” Martinho said. Although this natural gas will be cleaner, the cost of energy is not expected to decrease anytime soon. “In general, we are trying to lower the cost of the rates for our customers, RNG and this type of project is going to make it more efficient for us to develop cleaner fuels in the future,” says Janisse Quinonez with PG&E.
By Faughn Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Stanislaus County will pilot plan to put solar panels over irrigation canals

A first-in-the-nation project to build solar panels over irrigation canals will get underway later this year in Stanislaus County. Turlock Irrigation District expects to break ground in the fall on building solar panels at multiple locations within the 250 miles of its canals. The agency expects to produce renewable energy and reduce water evaporation. Called Project Nexus, the plan is a concept developed by UC Merced and funded with $20 million by the California Department of Water Resources. According to the UC study, if the state’s 4,000 miles of canals were covered, it could result in a savings of 63 billion gallons of water annually and generate 13 gigawatts of solar power, or one-sixth of the state’s current installed capacity.

Josh Weimer with Turlock Irrigation says Project Nexus will put that theory to the test. “[It will] provide a model to not only California but the rest of the country to utilize our existing water infrastructure to produce renewable energy and potentially save water,” Weimer said. Weimer says the panels will be placed at three different locations. The pilot project will put to the test the feasibility of covering the state’s 4,000 miles of canals with solar panels. “We are excited of the potential,” he said. “The potential to save water from evaporation and also to minimize the amount of maintenance that we have to do in our system to ensure reliability of irrigation deliveries to our growers.”  The project should be completed by 2024.

https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/02/16/stanislaus-county-will-pilot-plan-to-put-solar-panels-over-irrigation-canals/

By Faughn Commercial • New Location 0 Comments

Dalfen Industrial Acquires Central Valley Property

Dalfen Industrial has acquired a 417,600 square foot industrial building in Lathrop, CA – a submarket within East Bay’s Central Valley. The opportunity was sourced off-market and is 100% occupied with an additional 10.85 acres of prime developable land. The property has a strategic last mile location with close proximity to I-5 as well as the Port of Stockton and the Union Pacific and BNSF Railroads. This location offers access to over 839,000 people within a 30-minute drive with a population that is growing at a rate 47% faster than the national average. Other companies in the area include Home Depot, Wayfair, Tesla, Amazon, DHL and Kraft.

“Strong growth dynamics in this region have resulted in increasing industrial demand, making this a great addition to our west coast portfolio,” said Rich Weiss, Market Officer for Dalfen. “The Central Valley is a major west coast distribution hub with same-day delivery capabilities to nearly 46 million people between San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Las Vegas, and all the cities in between.”

“This acquisition exemplifies our continued focus of adding strategically located west coast industrial assets to our portfolio in order to bolster our last mile fulfillment center footprint in the region” markets.” said Sean Dalfen, President and Chief Investment Officer at Dalfen Industrial. In 2021, Dalfen Industrial has acquired and developed $2.3 billion in industrial properties.

http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/state/dalfen-industrial-acquires-central-valley-property/article_4ecc956c-02e9-51fd-86fd-61497233088c.html

By Faughn Distribution • New Developments 0 Comments

Rail expansion at Castle expected to reduce supply chain issues, Merced County leaders say

At a time of shipping bottlenecks and supply chain shortages, Merced County leaders say expanded rail service at Castle Commerce Center will put Merced County in an advantageous economic position. The Merced County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a deal with Patriot Rail, a short line and regional freight railroad operator, which will lease 6,500 feet of track and related property and pay $1.2 million to increase rail capacity fluidity of shippers in the Castle rail district, according to a county news release. “This agreement is the culmination of years of market analysis and strategic planning,” said Lloyd Pereira, Board of Supervisors chairman, in the release. “Coupled with the autonomous vehicle testing happening at Castle, this is an exciting time for Merced County. We’re on the front end of job creation and economic development.”

The lease is part of the creation of a new rail district, according to county officials, and the lease to Patriot Rail is expected to make Merced County an even more prominent hub for freight rail movement. The deal enhances the ability of agricultural producers, manufacturers, and other businesses in the San Joaquin Valley to ship and receive products via the Burlington-Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad mainline. The BNSF mainline runs adjacent to the rail district, which is located on the southeast corner of the Castle Commerce Center.

A rail spur connects Castle to the BNSF lines and Patriot Rail will build more infrastructure to expand rail service there, the release said. The 20-year lease between Patriot Rail and Merced County has the potential for continued renewals at the discretion of company and county officials, the press release went on to say, and Patriot Rail will maintain the track. “Patriot Rail is pleased to advance and help drive Merced County’s vision of economic growth,” said John E. Fenton, CEO of Patriot Rail. “We are committed to providing service and safety excellence as a premier rail solutions provider, and to partnering with Merced County customers to ensure exciting new competitive options for shipments by rail to build business and grow jobs.” The expansion of rail service at Castle has not gone unnoticed in other economic hubs across the state. Officials at some of the busiest ports in the country herald this development as an opportunity not just for Merced County, but industry partners across the shipping industry. “This agreement will help make Central California a focal point to accelerate goods movement across our state and nation,” said Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los Angeles.

https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/business/article258218498.html

By Faughn Renewable Energy • Workforce 0 Comments

Renewable fuel production heats up in Kern

Renewable fuels production is becoming a bigger focus in Kern lately as investors launch projects that reinforce the county’s prominence in biofuels and advanced facilities are proposed for deriving bioenergy from local waste streams. Final preparations for a new renewable diesel project at the former Big West refinery on Rosedale Highway have roughly coincided with the recent expansion of a plant southwest of Bakersfield that leads the state in production of biodiesel. Plans are being made, meanwhile, for recycling centers that would turn household and other organic waste into biomethane, among other projects under consideration. Cooperation taking place locally aims to build on Kern’s momentum. Enthusiasm is running high as local initiatives stand to receive state money. But becoming a true center of excellence may depend on factors beyond local control.

Harry Simpson, CEO of Crimson Renewable Energy Holdings, recently finished a 50-percent increase in production capacity at the company’s 88-acre biodiesel refinery off Millux Road near Interstate 5. As a local operator, he was encouraged by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal last week for an $83 million energy innovation center at Cal State Bakersfield. Hopefully a commercially viable idea will emerge from the new center, he said. But he noted there’s no guarantee any such innovation would be built locally. “The question is, will this stuff get built in Kern County as opposed to somewhere else?” he said. “It would be cheaper and easier for me to do (business) in Texas or Louisiana than California.”

That possibility isn’t stopping local energy leaders from pursuing a collaboration geared toward capitalizing on Kern’s existing strengths in renewable fuels. One of the industry players participating in the county’s B3K Prosperity economic development initiative is Jennifer Haley, president and CEO of Kern Oil & Refining Co., a 155-employee plant that makes renewable diesel and other fuels at its 26,000-barrel-per-day refinery near Lamont. As her own company looks for strategic partners to do more waste-to-fuel processing and production of ultra-low-carbon intensity fuels, she sees the B3K collaboration as the best way to put local talent and other resources to use creating good local jobs. “It’s how do we pivot or how do we evolve toward managing that carbon intensity and meeting our climate goals?” Although it’s hard to say what products and technology will finally help California achieve its goals, she added, “I think we can define what the future looks like and be a part of the solution.”

California imports most of its biodiesel, just as it imports most of its crude oil. But to the degree that turning California’s growing stream of organic waste into energy is a local affair, at least, Kern is expected to attract investment in the months and years ahead, as the state requires municipalities to divert food scraps and other organic waste away from landfills to fight climate change. J.D. Gessin, operations CEO at West Coast Biofuels, is working to convert an idle produce plant in McFarland into a biodiesel and renewable fuels plant serving the commercial transportation industry. It is expected to employ more than 20 people turning waste oils such as grease and rendered fats into fuel for agriculture, heavy machinery, aviation, tractor-trailers and, eventually, maritime transport.

Separately, the company hopes to deploy a series of modular bioenergy refineries in Kern and as far north as Stockton to gasify organic waste that otherwise heads to a landfill. Each facility would employ three dozen or more people and process 20 to 30 metric tons of waste. Gessin said the company expects to eventually produce not only conventional liquid renewable fuels for decarbonizing commercial transport in California but also renewable electricity, biomethane and hydrogen. Local dairies equipped with large manure digesters also produce biomethane for use in Central Valley transportation. The facilities have ramped up quickly in recent years with state subsidies for capturing and harnessing a potent greenhouse gas methane that otherwise vents to the atmosphere.

In 2020, 589 million gallons of renewable diesel accounted for only about one-sixth of California’s total use of diesel fuel, according to the California Energy Commission. Renewables’ share is expected to jump 40 percent just with the project Global Clean Energy Holdings Inc. is preparing to begin on a portion of the former Big West property. Expected to employ more than 100 workers, the plant is planned to produce 15,000 barrels per day, or 230 million gallons per year. Like other local plants, its feedstock will include used cooking oil and rendered fats, though eventually it is expected to incorporate oil from a crop called camelina. Crimson’s operation on Millux, now responsible for 36 million gallons of biodiesel per year, has been the state’s largest producer of the fuel for almost 10 years. It brings in used cooking oil from as far north as Seattle, but still produces less than California biodiesel sources like Singapore. Still greater potential may lie in biomethane and hydrogen produced from organic waste.

Executive director Julia Levin of the Bioenergy Association of California said the state’s capacity for producing biomethane is pegged at the equivalent of 4 billion gallons per year of diesel — a third more than California’s demand for that fuel — using only waste from landfills, wastewater treatment, animal manure, fats, grease and biomass such as ag trimmings. She noted hydrogen could also be created from such sources. The California Public Utilities Commission has helped by requiring natural gas utilities to incorporate biomethane into the fuel it delivers residential customers for use in heating, cooking and drying. Levin said it won’t be long before more jets, ships and heavy-duty trucks are running on the fuel, given that some forms of transportation won’t easily adopt batteries. There are signs as well that state government is preparing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in biomethane, hydrogen and other renewable fuels. She predicted growing demand as California works to replace the feedstock fueling its natural gas power plants and looks for different forms of long-term energy storage. “I don’t think we’re going to see market saturation for a long time,” Levin said. “The problem is opposite right now. We need to ramp up production much more quickly.”

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/renewable-fuel-production-heats-up-in-kern/article_d98de8e0-7561-11ec-b08a-6392a4c10175.html

By Faughn Economy 0 Comments

Real estate forecast spotlights uneven recovery

Optimism sounded from every corner of Bakersfield’s real estate industry at an annual outlook event Tuesday, though some sectors were giddier than others as the pandemic has uneven effects on different kinds of local property. Bullishness led among housing specialists — both multifamily rental and single-family — followed by industrial property, the long-time local favorite. The office market came off as weaker than the rest but, like retail, may have fared better than had been expected. At heart an economic update, the Institute of Real Estate Management’s 10th annual forecast breakfast focused on popular concerns such as rising inflation, interest rates and construction costs. Speakers pointed to continuing challenges such as supply chain problems, but most characterized local and national business activity as having rebounded from the economic wreckage of 2020 and in some respects surpassed 2019’s peak.

Among the biggest news of the day was word that institutional investors have entered the local rental housing market after historically ignoring the Central Valley. Multifamily real estate specialist Marc Thurston with ASU Commercial said during the event, and elaborated by phone afterward, that two of three buyers who recently came in on private jets have since secured property locally. But because they couldn’t find any built units for sale, he added, both plan to develop new projects. He declined to identify the investors, saying only they were attracted to the fact that some apartment rents in Bakersfield recently topped $2,000 per month, and that they were impressed by the relative openness of the local economy. With the citywide occupancy hovering at historic lows, he said there will be unmet demand even if each project totals as many as 1,000 new rental units. “It doesn’t begin to address the shortage that we have here,” he said.

A similar imbalance is at play in the single-family market, where new President Anna Albiar of the Bakersfield Association of Realtors noted a shortage of inventory has coincided with strong demand — “the recipe for increasing prices,” she said. Kern’s housing affordability, defined as the capacity of a local resident of average income to afford a home selling at the area’s median price, is 45 percent. Albiar pointed out that compares favorably with the statewide rate of 24 percent. Albiar dismissed comparisons to the 2006-07 housing bust, saying buyers back then had far less “skin in the game” when borrowing. New homeowners these days put more money down and so “it’s harder for them to walk away and leave that investment,” she said. Albiar added that although interest rates are expected to rise, they remain historically low.

President and CEO A.J. Antongiovanni of Mission Bank, delivering the event’s highest-level economic overview, said the national economy is exceptional and that spending is exceeding 2019 levels. He called the pandemic so far a “bump in the road,” though he observed that prices and wages are up “and I don’t think that’s temporary.”

Industrial property specialist Oscar Baltazar with Colliers International delivered an upbeat market assessment, saying demand is strong lately and predicting more investors will come north from Southern California. The metro area’s industrial property vacancy rate fell from 4.9 percent in 2020 to 3.2 percent in 2021, he said, as the market expanded more than 3 percent to 63 million square feet. He listed new projects including a 3-acre meat processing facility coming to southeast Bakersfield and a new transmission manufacturing plant. “I believe that rents will continue to go up, construction will go up,” Baltazar said.

Office specialist Matthew Starr with ASU Commercial challenged the notion office space “is dead” in the face of the mass migration to work-from-home arrangements. While there’s likely to be a combination of remote work and in-person labor, he said, company culture is generally created in the office, and work-life balance suffers when business is done from the kitchen. He added that employers appear to be reversing the trend of dedicating less office space per employee. Demand is steadily recovering, Starr said, and there’s no sign of a flood of vacancies ahead. Although oil industry tenants may pull back because of state regulation, he said demand has diversified among users like health care, government, financial services and agriculture. Starr predicted high construction costs will limit the pipeline of new projects and the local vacancy rate is unlikely to top 12 percent, having recently surpassed 11 percent.

Retail broker Vince Roche at Cushman & Wakefield highlighted bright spots like greater integration of food in shopping centers, a dip in online shopping in 2021 and recent local investments by big national retailers like Dutch Bros., Aldi and Raising Cane’s. He acknowledged challenges to tenants like movie theaters, health clubs and museums but pointed to promising adaptive reuse projects like the new Amazon distribution hub at the former Kmart on Wilson Road. Another focus was the Westside Parkway, which he said may have the largest benefit of any local public works project in decades in the way it allows shoppers to get to goods and services much more quickly and efficiently.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/real-estate-forecast-spotlights-uneven-recovery/article_7823253a-789e-11ec-a517-13c404b78132.html

By Faughn New Developments • Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Work starts on 100-megawatt solar project in eastern Kern

Construction has begun five miles west of Rosamond on a 100-megawatt photovoltaic solar project called Rabbitbrush Solar, which will come with a battery component storing 50 megawatt-hours of electricity. As the latest large-scale renewable energy project in eastern Kern, the Canadian-backed development is expected to create 300 union construction jobs at its peak. After that it is expected to generate enough power to run 40,000 homes, essentially removing 48,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year — the equivalent of taking 10,500 gasoline-powered cars off the road. Two companies have signed 15-year agreements to buy energy from the project: Central Coast Community Energy and Silicon Valley Clean Energy. Both are community-choice aggregation providers that sell clean energy to individual customers.

Developer Leeward Renewable Energy said it chose to build in Kern because of the area’s consistent sunlight and flat land. It also credited the availability of electrical transmission lines and other infrastructure nearby, as well as the area’s experienced workforce and the county’s leadership in renewable-energy development. Work began in October at the site near Willow Springs. Construction is scheduled to finish in July and operations are set to begin in August.

Kern’s top planner and lead energy permitting official, Lorelei Oviatt, on Friday described Rabbitbrush as an infill project in an area that’s already home to extensive solar and wind development. She said the county conducted an environmental review of the project and found nothing particularly controversial about it. At least half the jobs generated during construction must be local hires, Oviatt said. She noted the project makes good sense in that battery storage works best near the source of power generation. She also made reference to a simmering conflict between Kern and state government over energy permitting. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration has clamped down on oil permitting — a significant source of local jobs and government revenue — even as Sacramento has extended an exemption that denies Kern millions of dollars per year in property tax receipts. “Once again this (Rabbitbrush project) is Kern County’s contribution to California, and we believe that we have a solution for local revenues for right now, but we still continue to advocate for an adjustment to the solar tax exclusion,” Oviatt said.

Leeward reports having 21 renewable energy facilities in nine states with generation capacity totaling about 2,000 megawatts. It says it is working on more than 100 new wind, solar and energy storage projects offering 17 gigawatts of power. Leeward is owned by Canadian pension company OMERS Infrastructure, which reports having $114 billion in net assets.

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/work-starts-on-100-megawatt-solar-project-in-eastern-kern/article_e135ea22-700f-11ec-8fcc-e7aa8f3d631f.html

By Faughn Economy • Energy 0 Comments

CSUB in line for $83 million for energy innovation center in governor’s proposed budget

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his new proposed 2022-23 budget Monday morning, and it contains a nice plum for Bakersfield – a plum that could be worth a third of a billion dollars.

What’s the purpose of this seeming windfall? Addressing climate change and the vulnerable Kern County economy. The Kern County oil industry has faced unprecedented challenges over the past two-plus years as Sacramento has worked toward ambitious climate change goals.The number and severity of recently imposed restrictions on petroleum extraction by the state make it clear where this is all headed. That of course prompts the question  – where does that leave the Kern County economy, which relies so heavily on the oil industry? We got an important part of the answer Monday when Newsom – in revealing his proposed 2022-23 state budget –  announced his intention to give $83 million to CSU Bakersfield to research new directions in energy development as the state reduces its use of fossil fuels.  “$537 million will be going to the CSU [system] with the support of the legislature,” Newsom said.  “[Of that] $304 million [is] ongoing, and then new dollars [would be coming] as part of the budget…. On- time money, including a Bakersfield innovation center. Bakersfield, in Kern County, [is] at the center of this transition to low carbon, green growth. (It’s a) remarkable CSU [campus]. …. $83 million investment there.”

CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny said the innovation center will help chart the energy future of the state – and the nation. “We are here in the epicenter of energy for the state, for the nation,” she said. “This the right place for that work to happen. So what we’ve proposed was actually a building that will be at the center of research and development for energy innovation. I really do appreciate his trust in moving this forward. He has also given us money for additional faculty that will come to be part of this research center.”

Fourty-four new faculty, to be exact, taking up residency in the California Energy Research center – 74,000 square feet on three levels, with 17 laboratory spaces, including a fabrication lab. No groundbreaking date has been set. The funding is not assured. The governor said higher education will play a crucial part of the state’s plan to address climate change. “We’re very mindful,” Newsom said, “that if we’re going to sprint in this transition we’ve got to support a thoughtful framework.”

The governor’s proposed budget would also add $250 million to help workers train for and find new jobs outside the oil extraction industries. Zelezny says she expects that several institutions of higher learning will participate in that aspect of the plan. All together, that’s a third of a billion dollars that’s being directed toward helping Kern County move away from something that’s been part of its economy and its culture for more than 125 years.

https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/csub-in-line-for-83-million-for-energy-innovation-center-in-governors-proposed-budget/

By Faughn Distribution • Workforce 0 Comments

Amazon to open ‘last mile’ warehouse in Fresno, bringing 550 jobs. Here’s what it will do

Online retail giant Amazon is expanding its sizable footprint in Fresno with plans to open a “last mile” warehouse in the eastern part of the city south of Fresno Yosemite International Airport. According to development plans and permit applications filed last year with the city, Seefried Industrial Properties is building a 183,000-square-foot warehouse that will serve as a delivery station – one final stop for packages before they are delivered to customers. The facility is reportedly expected to open in the second half of this year and will operate around the clock with as many as 550 employees.

The site covers about 43 acres at the southwest corner of Olive and Clovis avenues, near the former Sunnyside Drive-In movie theater. The old drive-in property is bounded on the south and west by the Amazon property, according to Fresno zoning maps. HIghway 180 runs along the south side of the Amazon site. Fresno City Councilmember Tyler Maxwell, whose Council District 4 included the site until newly redrawn districts took effect this year, confirmed to The Bee on Wednesday that the project was indeed being built for Amazon. From the time that the first development applications were filed almost a year ago, Maxwell said the nature of the project was kept “pretty hush hush” by both the developer and the city manager’s office.

“Trying to find out more information had been difficult,“ Maxwell said. “My staff had to dig to find out who was behind the fictitious business name, and of course it was Amazon.” In both development applications and in various building permit documents, the project has been described as a “warehouse and distribution facility” or “delivery station” amounting to about 161,000 square feet of warehouse space and about 22,000 square feet of offices and support space. “Delivery stations power the last mile of the tenant’s order fulfillment process and help speed up delivery for customers,” Seefried Industrial representatives stated in a permit application last year.

The developer noted that the site will have parking for more than 1,600 cars and vans, in addition to 12 trailer parking spaces. The building itself will include 17 loading-dock doors. Amazon opened a massive, 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center at the southern edge of Fresno in mid-2018, eventually ramping up its hiring to about 2,500 workers by last year. Since opening, construction has commenced on a nearby second large fulfillment center for Amazon, at 470,000 square feet, after the city of Fresno reached a settlement with residents who objected to the growing number of distribution centers in their south Fresno neighborhood. The company is also stepping up its partnerships with a cadre of “last mile” delivery partners – companies that contract with Amazon for delivery of packages to customers’ doors. The last-mile warehouses serve as an intermediate stop for packages between larger fulfillment centers and customers, providing a final sorting stop where drivers collect packages for delivery.

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article258213443.html