This is the 110-acre site in south Fresno where Richard Caglia proposed to develop a new industrial park aimed at businesses that want to support the nearby Amazon distribution center. image via Google Earth

The developer of a proposed 110-acre industrial park in Fresno said the project — which could top out to more than 2 million square feet of space — will bring further improvements to the area where Ulta and Amazon are building e-commerce distribution centers.

The area at Central and Cedar avenues will be connected into the City of Fresno’s water and sewer system, undergo street improvements and add traffic control measures, said Richard Caglia of Caglia Environmental.

It could generate thousands of construction and industrial jobs, he added, should a development permit be issued today on a vote by the Fresno City Council.

“I think the area represents a major opportunity for Fresno,” he said. “It’s in the process of a huge transformation. There are going to be thousands of jobs and even more economic development activity.”

The project has garnered opposition. A group called South Central Neighbors United, comprised of residents living near the site — including at a mobile home park across the street — have challenged the project, citing impacts from groundwater depletion and daily vehicle traffic.

The park is expected to operate 24 hours a day, and would include 1,842 parking stalls and generate more than 6,200 daily vehicle trips, according to a report from the city.

As proposed, the park would have up to seven reinforced concrete buildings ranging in size from 124,200 to 1 million square feet, with the total square footage of the entire complex not to exceed 2.06 million square feet, according to reports from the city’s Development and Resource Management Department.

Caglia said there have been initial discussions with potential tenants he declined to name, but noted the final building footprint could include smaller facilities. It will likely target ancillary businesses that want to locate next to and support the Amazon distribution center, expected to open in late summer. That could include light-manufacturing tenants.

The council will consider the item at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

“For all of the opportunities, the council should approve this unanimously,” Caglia said. “Any holdup could be putting someone out of work.”

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For more information, see the Jan. 26 print edition of The Business Journal. Subscribe or find a newsstand.