Officials are mum on the tenant planned for a large-scale delivery center under construction along San Felipe Road in northern Hollister, but signs point to it being Amazon, the dominant online business and cloud computing company.
Grading work recently got underway on the 25.5-acre property after the Hollister Planning Commission on Jan. 28 unanimously approved a 129,540-square-foot, 44-foot-tall facility at Flynn and San Felipe roads. Commissioner David Huboi excused himself from the meeting due to a conflict of interest.
According to plans submitted to the city, the 24/7 facility, located in the Citation Business Park, would include 710 van parking spaces for the delivery fleet, 260 spaces for employees and the public, and 15 spaces for semi-trucks.
Delivery shifts would be staggered during off-peak hours to alleviate traffic, Planning Manager Abraham Prado said.
Per the agreement with the city, the company is required to pay its “fair share” of roadway improvements, which could include a roundabout at Flynn and San Felipe roads, and acceleration/deceleration lanes on Highway 25 at Flynn Road.
The delivery station is described as a “last mile distribution facility” which receives shipments from fulfillment centers that are then sorted on site and distributed within a 50-mile radius from the site.
The tenant has not been announced. However, according to the plans, 21 employees are expected for the “Prime Free Same Day Delivery” shift, which is the name of a service offered by Amazon.
The developer of the project, Irvine-based Panattoni Development Company, has worked on a number of Amazon delivery stations in California and throughout the nation.
Mayor Ignacio Velazquez said the company chose the Hollister site based on its location and proximity to a large workforce. He declined to say who the tenant is, adding that it is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Velazquez noted that the company is also eyeing building in Gilroy as well. While it is unknown if it is related, Amazon purchased 66 acres of farmland in the south Santa Clara County city for a future data center.
Velazquez said the goal is to have the facility operational by late September, and hire as many local people as possible to fill the roughly 400 jobs the center is expected to generate.
“It works out great for us because it reduces traffic of people going out of town for work,” he said. “The key to our success is having residents living and working in our community. This is a big step in that direction.”
A call to Panattoni Development Company was not returned as of press time. During the Jan. 28 planning commission meeting, Panattoni Development Manager Steve Beauchamp said the unnamed tenant looks to locate in places with a strong employee base.
“Hollister certainly checked that box for them,” he said. “We knew that Hollister is business-friendly.”
Prado said an environmental impact report had been done on the property in the early 2000s, when a larger project was proposed. A recently completed addendum to the report showed that the delivery center would result in less traffic and less greenhouse gas emissions, as the project is combining a number of parcels on the industrial-zoned property, according to Prado.
“This is a great opportunity for economic development in the City of Hollister,” he said. “Not only would this project allow for the creation of new jobs in high need in Hollister, it will provide great tax revenue for the city.”
