Business Development Opportunities
With an eye toward the future, room to grow, and a strategic location just outside an hour from the pulse of Silicon Valley, San Joaquin County is poised for big business. Add business-friendly economic development policies, incentives and benefits offered through the San Joaquin County Enterprise Zone, extensive transportation infrastructure, and affordable living, and it's easy to see that San Joaquin County and its cities are a vital
asset in rebuilding the California economy. Affordability is the business advantage in San Joaquin County. Here, entrepreneurs with a vision to start their own company, and corporations with plans to expand or relocate will find the space and workforce they need at price points that allow them to compete and succeed. From technology to research and development, to renewable energy, manufacturing, fulfillment, and distribution, San Joaquin County offers a unique opportunity for business development in the Greater Silicon Valley.
Surrounded by scenic agricultural land and open spaces, Escalon is an attractive city of just 7,206 residents. This vibrant and diversified community preserves a family-oriented atmosphere with a high quality of rural life. Escalon Premier Brands, Eckert Frozen Foods, and Hogan Mfg., Inc., are Escalon's largest employers.
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Lathrop is a San Joaquin city with a genuine Stanford connection. It was founded by Leland Stanford in 1869 as a railroad town. The name was taken from the family name of his wife, Jane Lathrop. In Lathrop, California Natural Products (CNP) has grown from a 5,000 square foot melon packing operation decades ago to a 400,000+ square foot manufacturing plant that processes ingredients or low- acid aseptic (contamination-proof ) food products for more than 200 companies worldwide including Starbuck's chai teas, fresh soups, and rice milk. For CNP, its location is in the middle of a raw materials mecca: tomatoes, almonds etc. that allows them to produce high-quality products while saving processing costs and shipping times. Diamond Pet Foods chose Lathrop for its first pet-food manufacturing facility in 1999. Both companies rely on the city's ideal transportation location - along Interstate 5 within the metro triangle bounded by the Bay Area, Stockton and Sacramento. Lathrop also offers prime power sites, a development - friendly city council and staff as well as affordable housing.
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Agri-business is growing in Lodi with two multi-million dollar expansion projects. Trinchero Family Estates, the fourth largest wine seller in the country, is undergoing a $300-million expansion to its Westside Winery and building a new central bottling and distribution center. The operation is expected to generate an estimated 400 jobs and nearly double Trinchero's wine production capacity to more than 30 million cases. Pacific Coast Producers, provider of canned fruit and tomato products, is adding nearly 475,000 square feet to its warehouse and labeling plant. The $23-million building will increase Pacific Coast's distribution capacity to service nearly 30 freight cars and 50 truck loading docks.
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In Manteca, important land use decisions are paving the way for business development in the County's third largest city. Austin Road Business Park and Residential Community, spanning nearly 1,050 acres, carries the potential for 8-million square feet of industrial/commercial and office space and thousands of homes at build-out. Phase IA of the project is scheduled to start with major infrastructure improvements to support industrial development, including a new interchange on Highway 99. Among the city's objectives for the mixed-use planned community, as outlined in the city's 2023 General Plan, are to provide a major employment center and opportunities for retail, commercial, industrial and professional uses that contribute to Manteca's economic base.
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Located at the junction of Interstates 205 and 580, Mountain House was created as a self-contained, self-sustaining town that would provide the optimum balance between housing and employment opportunities. Upon groundbreaking in 2001, it was billed as the country's first fully-contained new town of the new millennium. Today, Mountain House retains a small-town appeal with a population of roughly 10,000 people. The community's 30-year, mixed-use master plan calls for 16,000 residential units spread among 12 villages to accommodate a population of approximately 44,000 people. At built-out, each of the 12 distinct villages will features its own K-8 school, pedestrian oriented neighborhoods, park, and retail center. A number of new subdivisions and the community's high school are currently under construction. In addition to an extensive residential component, Mountain House includes significant commercial opportunities. Nearly 1,000 acres is designated for industrial, office, retail, and mixed use. According to Eric Bose, director of development at Trimark Communities, LLC, Mountain House is an ideal location for a range of businesses including warehouse distribution, clean manufacturing and assembly, incubators, and professional office use. "Mountain House has a competitive governance environment," said Bose. "We are fully invested and committed to accommodating job growth in San Joaquin County. Mountain House is completely shovel-ready."
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Diamond Pet Foods chose Ripon as the location for its new manufacturing plant which is adding 75 jobs to the community. Additionally, the $10-million renovation project provided jobs to over 200 local laborers at the peak of construction. "We're a close-knit community, and as a family-owned and operated business, Diamond Pet Foods is a great fit for Ripon," said Ken Zuidervaart, Ripon's planning director. "It's great to see their commitment to the community, from the investments they made in the facility to providing jobs for the people of Ripon." Also under construction in Ripon is a new 60-acre sports park with nine soccer fields, two baseball diamonds, four softball fields, and a dog run.
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Business, jobs, and alternative energy are priorities at the Port of Stockton, which includes 2,000 acres of operating real estate and more than 7-million square feet of covered warehousing. One of the Port's major developments is a commercial refrigerated-storage warehouse distribution center powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Upon full build, the structures will occupy nearly 18.5 acres and offer more than 800,000 square feet of warehousing. Focusing on alternative energy, DTE Energy's $100-million biomass facility is converting the Port's former District Energy Facility from a coal-powered plant to a 100 percent biomass fuel facility.
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Stockton offers business development opportunity on a grand scale. NorCal Logistics Center is a 474-acre industrial development with 8.2-million square feet of logistics facilities, distribution space, and multitenant buildings designed on a build-to-suit and speculative basis. The site is master planned to be one of the largest and most efficient industrial distribution campuses in the Western United States. The property, located along Highway 99, features entitled land that is ready for up to approximately 2-million square feet of build-to-suit development. Airport East is a 550-acre master-planned business park at Stockton Metropolitan Airport. The site will accommodate up to 8.5-million square feet of office, research and development, manufacturing, cargo, and retail space. An expedited approval process applies for improvement plan reviews and building permit applications. The City of Stockton is committed to maintaining a business-friendly atmosphere and offers numerous economic incentive programs including the Public Facilities Fees Reduction and Fee Deferral Program, a free Economic Review Committee, and loan and grant programs to support entrepreneurs and small business owners.
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Tracy is a model for public/private entities working together for sustainable growth. The city of 84,000 saw positive job growth during the economic downturn and is catching the attention of major developers as the economy rebounds. "We are very prepared for growth. We are planning for that 30-year look and the job generating aspect is impressive," said Andrew Malik, development services director at the City of Tracy. Among the major developments moving forward in Tracy is the 1,700-acre Cordes Ranch business park that will comprise an estimated 36-million square feet of commercial and light industrial space at build-out. Malik estimates that once fully occupied, Cordes Ranch tenants could generate up to 30,000 jobs, essentially doubling the city's current workforce. In the 870-acre Northeast Industrial Area, e-commerce giant Amazon is building a
1-million-square-foot fulfillment center projected to employ approximately 1,000 people. Another significant area for future business development is Tracy Gateway, which spans roughly 500 acres on the city's west side.
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