Developer selected for massive central California intermodal complex
Sacramento-based developer PCCP West Park will get the opportunity to develop the 1,527-acre former Crows Landing Air Facility into a 4,500-acre intermodal business complex with a short-haul rail link to the Port of Oakland.
PCCP beat out Texas-based developer Hillwood in a 3-2 vote by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Stanislaus County acquired the former U.S. Navy and NASA facility, located in central California about 18 miles south of Modesto, in 2004. PCCP and Hillwood offered very different visions of how best to use the property to create jobs and additional tax base for the county.
PCCP's proposal revolves around a short-haul rail link with the Port of Oakland that is to be funded by transportation bond money from the state, along with matching funds from local and federal sources in several jurisdictions.
The plan reaches beyond the air facility, including an additional 3,000 acres of adjacent property, which PCCP said were necessary to make the economics of the project work.
Hillwood proposed a more traditional logistics and warehouse business park, entirely contained within the boundaries of the Crows Landing Air Facility.
The Hillwood development would have been oriented toward truck traffic on nearby Interstate 5, with the possibility of attracting maintenance and training facilities for small business and recreational jets.
Public critics of the plans urged the board to reject both proposals and leave the land in farming.
Supervisor Jim DeMartini, who voted no on the motion, had strong criticism for the West Park proposal in particular, saying the larger land area is unacceptable, the rail funding is unlikely and the two major railroads are not interested in short-haul rail.
Approving board member said that the PCCP offered the most creative and viable design for the site.
'We have an opportunity today to work with Oakland in developing something that goes beyond Stanislaus County. We can address some of the problems of pollution and congestion, and benefit all of central California and northern California. The potential is huge,' said Supervisor Dick Monteith, in approving the PCCP plan.