Manteca’s biggest employment park development complete with highly coveted freeway and railroad access could one day be built on the southeast corner of Highway 99 and the 120 Bypass.
It is one of three major changes regarding the potential development of employment centers that’s encompassed in the proposed preferred land use for the general plan update. The citizens’ advisory committee that has helped shape the update is recommending the designation of land to accommodate a future employment center along French Camp Road.
The preferred land use plan is being reviewed by the Manteca Planning Commission when they meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.
The land along French Camp Road is not currently within the city limits but is within its sphere of influence that identifies land likely to be annexed at some point. The general plan assigns potential land use designations in advance to allow for long-range planning.
The area in question has land identified for industrial use that is slightly larger in area than the business park portion of Spreckels Park combined with the Manteca Industrial as well as an area between the two that flanks Industrial Park Drive that is currently being farmed.
The industrial portion is bordered by Highway 99 on the west and a point a quarter of a mile east of Castle Road. French Camp Road forms the northern border. At a point roughly three quarters of the distance south of French Camp Road to Verigin Road is the southern boundary that runs east across Castle Road at a point south of the “S” curve on Castle Road.
The rest of the area to Verigin Road is being designated as business industrial park, the same designation of Spreckels Park and Manteca Industrial Park. The industrial designation on the larger chunk allows more industrial style uses.
Most of the designated area to the north is farmland. There are existing homes on both sides of Castle Road until you get to the western bend in the “S” curve. There are homes to the south at that point and farmland to the north. After Castle Road heads north at the eastern bend it is bordered primarily by farmland.
The French Camp Road employment center is directly across Highway 99 where an agricultural industrial zone is being recommended to protect the Delicato Vineyards winery from encroachment.
Not only would the area have rail access but it is almost midway between two intermodal — truck trailer to train — operations with Union Pacific Railroad’s on Roth Road and Santa Fe Railroad’s on Austin Road. The bulk of cross-country truck trailer movements are by train.
The preferred land use map would accommodate Manteca’s biggest business park yet — the proposed development on the southwest corner of Airport Way and Louise Avenue — that could end with two of the largest distribution centers in San Joaquin County
Scannell Development wants to build a 1,360,000 square-foot plus 1,265,000 square-foot distribution style buildings among 4.9 million square feet proposed for the 229 acres that is approved for the building of 1,014 housing units.
The proposal changes the 229 acres to industrial.
The two largest buildings in the Scannell project would eclipse the larger of the two Tracy Amazon distribution centers that’s 1.2 million square feet and be bigger than the 1.1 million square-foot Wayfair distribution center now under construction in Lathrop south of the 120 Bypass along the San Joaquin River.
It could include 11 buildings with 4.9 million square feet, making it larger than all of the existing structures in the Spreckels Park Business Park, Pacific Business Park on Louise Avenue across from the Manteca Unified School District office complex, and CenterPoint where 5.11 Tactical and Penske Logistics (Lowe’s Home Improvement distribution center).
The first phase of buildings could start construction as early as October 2019 with their completion in July 2020. it would include three buildings screened from Airport Way with landscaping between Louise Avenue and Crom Street consisting of 220,000, 192,000, and 180,000 square feet. The two mega-distribution centers are part of a second phase. The third phase south of Crom Street would consist of six buildings — 130,000, 120,000, 477,000, 448,000, 300,000, and 250,000 square feet.
The preferred land use map eliminates 238 acres zoned for heavy industrial and 65 acres for business/industrial/professional use in the 1,040-acre Austin Road Business Park annexation and designating the land primarily for more housing.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
