INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE GUIDE
How Transportation Serves Industry
In his years as a public servant , Mike Luken has gotten used to transportationrelated queries from industrial representatives .
“ It ’ s one of the first questions a company will ask when they are trying to site a new facility or even expand their existing facility or keep a facility where it ’ s at now ,” says Luken , who serves as executive director of the Placer County Transportation Planning Agency . ( He ’ s also managed the Port of West Sacramento and served as the economic development manager for both West Sacramento and Yolo County .) “ They say , ‘ Well , what is the city or the county ’ s plan for keeping that piece of transportation infrastructure they ’ re located on congestion-free ? What are your expansion plans ? How are you ( going to ) enable us to get our commerce to and from our facility so that we can be successful ?’” The good news is that throughout the Capital Region , jurisdictions can often positively answer these questions due to the area ’ s impressive network of roadways , railways , ports and airports .
Peter Tateishi , CEO of Associated General Contractors of California , says that having four major highways — I-5 , 80 , 50 and 99 — converge in the Greater Sacramento area makes the region “ a hub for a lot of movement of goods .”
These roadways attract companies to areas like the Sunset Industrial Area in southern unincorporated Placer County because , as Luken explains , “ It ’ s very easy to get in and out of their facilities , get their trucks , get their inbound shipments in , get their outbound shipments out onto the highway system and then on to other things .”
But it ’ s not just roads that help industry . The Ports of West Sacramento and Stockton allow the movement of bulk cargo to and from the open ocean through their deepwater channels — a must for international commerce . And anyone looking to transport goods by air has four choices among Sacramento McClellan , Mather , Sacramento International and Stockton Metropolitan airports .
The region also has Union Pacific ’ s Roseville rail yard — the largest railroad switchyard west of the Mississippi River — and the Sacramento Valley Railroad , run by Patriot Rail & Ports at McClellan Park , which serves McClellan ’ s 2.4 million square feet of facilities through its 10-acre railyard . In 2019 alone , it handled 8,500 freight carloads .
Tom Naso , associate vice president of sales for Patriot Rail , says in a written statement that this movement “ enables transport flexibility , reliability and efficiency ... while at the same time keeping trucks off of congested roadways and meeting community goals of safety , sustainability and cleaner air .”
— Graham Womack
“ It ’ s a logical place to really have that industrial hub and movement of goods in our state .”
Amanda Blackwood CEO , Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
local leaders have welcomed it . Sisler & Sisler ’ s Lee calls both cities “ very easy to work with .” The same holds true in Placer County , where officials have been hard at work attracting companies to their area through developments like the Sunset Industrial Area , more than 8,000 acres of unincorporated land surrounded by the cities of Rocklin , Roseville and Lincoln that is slated to become an employment , entertainment and education center . Sherri Conway , director of economic development for Placer County , says that even in the midst of a pandemic , “ our phone has not stopped ringing .”
The industrial hub extends south to San Joaquin County as well . Bob Gutierrez , interim president and CEO of the San Joaquin Partnership , says , “ Right now , we have a lot of attention … for industrial parks that are in growth mode .” He ’ s excited about a number of projects , including Airpark 599 , a public-private effort spurred by the partnership , county and master developer Catellus . The 550-acre development will include 1.2 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space next to the Stockton Metropolitan Airport .
Bob Burris , CEO of the Solano Economic Development Corporation , says that industrial land use “ is our strong suit as well ,” pointing out that around 10 % of the county ’ s workforce is in manufacturing or processing . He notes that like much of the region , Solano has a multitude of highways running through it , making it a premier location for logistics and distribution .
82 comstocksmag . com | February 2021