Manteca’s days of sitting on the sidelines in the South San Joaquin County scramble to lure mega-distribution centers will soon end.
The city is now processing a permit for work valued at $31.4 million to build a 565,580-square-foot spec building in the Pacific Business Park on Louise Avenue where an Amazon Prime distribution center is opening next to the Manteca Unified School District office.
It is part of 60 permits currently under review that carry a combined value of $42.7 million. That means this could end up being the biggest November ever — and possibly the largest month ever — in Manteca history for new construction starts.
And it’s not being powered by single family homes.
It also includes a $1.2 million permit for a 2,802-square-foot fast food restaurant that has not be identified on a vacant parcel where the old McDonald’s restaurant once stood between Manteca Strike Zone & Family Fun Center and Panera Bread.
When all of the permits are issued it will push Manteca’s building activity for the first 11 months past $215 million. That would set a record for a year with one month to go. As of Oct, 31, there have been 1,050 building permits issued in the first 10 months of the year with a combined value of $173 million.
October saw 296 permits issued including 64 for new single family homes for a combined total of $17.5 million and the first three buildings for the 154-unit Tesoro Apartments complex being built at Van Ryn Avenue and Atherton Drive.
The 565,580-square-foot spec building will be the largest single structure built at one time in Manteca,  It will surpass the largest distribution center now in Manteca — the Ford Motors Small Parts Distribution Center on Spreckels Avenue — by 15,000 square feet.
That distinction of being the largest structure in Manteca is likely to be short lived. CenterPoint is moving forward with plans for a 1.2 million square-foot-structure known as the Laurie Project near the 404,000-square-foot 5.11 Tactical distribution center that is nearing completion on Airport Way near Roth Road.
Another 286,072-square-foot spec building is under construction on DuPount Court in Spreckels Park. DCT Industrial is buying the last unsold parcel in Spreckels Park to build a 304,110-square-foot warehouse distribution facility on 14.83 acres fronting Spreckels Avenue between J&M Equipment and American Modular Systems.
The four projects will add 2.4 million square feet of spec space to Manteca effectively putting the city in the face with Lathrop, Tracy, and Stockton  to snag logistics and manufacturing concerns looking to expand to serve the consumer cash rich Bay Area market.
Tracy, Stockton, and Lathrop currently have projects moving forward that will add 3 million square feet of spec space. Investors are bullish on the South County due to its location within 100 miles of 17 million consumers plus its unparalleled access to train-truck rail yards, air, and seaport and freeway transportation corridors.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com