Port of Oakland Commissioners on November 30 gave their final approval to a plan that calls for the development of a Seaport Logistics Complex on the site of decommissioned U.S. Army base.

 

The plan calls for CenterPoint Properties to build a 440,000-square-foot distribution center adjacent to the port’s $100 million rail yard and across the street from marine terminals where container ships berth.  The new building and railyard are part of a plan for a 180-acre logistics campus on port land. CenterPoint said work could begin in first quarter 2018. 

 

CenterPoint officials claim the new distribution center would be the largest warehouse-style building at any U.S. West Coast port and one of the few nationally allowing transloading for transport by ship, truck or train within the port footprint.  

 

"This is a unique opportunity," said CenterPoint Chief Development Officer Michael Murphy.  "There are very few places in North America where we can develop a logistics facility of this size which will effectively accommodate the efficient movement and delivery of goods that are critical to the economic health of a city and provide meaningful jobs for area residents."

 

The port will lease property to CenterPoint, which will manage the facility. The land is the site of a U.S. Army supply depot that closed in 1999. The port and city of Oakland each received 240-acre parcels from the base closure. 

 

Long-range planning for future developments at the Seaport Logistics Complex is underway but the port has no timetable for additional projects.