Vernon, Calif.-based Baker Cold Storage and Colton, California-based
Lineage Logistics have teamed up to build a brand new 250,000 square foot cold
storage facility within the Port District in Long Beach.
The building broke ground in a special onsite ceremony at
11:30 am on March 19, and is scheduled to open in the spring of 2015. The
facility is expected to feature a freezer, cooler and refrigerated cross-dock
for truck, container and rail service.
Baker purchased the 12.6-acre property from Eagle Rock
Aggregates and Partners in 2012. When built, it’s expected to be among the
largest near-port facility of its kind in Southern California.
The project is valued at about $75 million.
The site, which was owned for more than 75 years by J.H.
Baxter and used for treating wood products with preservatives and wood
treatment chemicals, is contaminated by residue from the wood preservative
operations and sat empty for over a decade due to the cost and effort required to
remediate. A mitigation plan to clean up the brownfield site is expected to
make it usable for the first time in decades.
“We are excited to take a piece of previously unviable prime
real estate in the Port District and be able to develop it,” Baker Cold Storage
President Jim Andreoli said.
“The Port of Long Beach is one of the busiest seaports in
the US,” Lineage Logistics CEO Bill Hendricksen said. “Each year, more than six
million 20-foot container units come through the port, along with 75 million
metric tons of cargo, much of which requires cold storage. We are honored to
provide the Port of Long Beach with private infra-structure to help fulfill
their billion dollar commitment to 21st century facilities and innovative
environmental programs.”
The new 250,000 sq. ft. facility is planned to include
storage for 54 million pounds of foodstuffs and a cross dock capable of trans-loading
two million pounds of product per day.
“There are currently no facilities of this design, size and
capability in the Long Beach Port District or anywhere else in California for
that matter,” Mitch Ebright, Vice President of Baker Cold Storage, said.
