CenterPoint lays out timetable for logistics complex at Port of Oakland

Industrial developer CenterPoint properties will begin work this fall on a $52 million, 440,000 square distribution center complex at the Port of Oakland, the port said today.

Site preparation will begin in October for the project, which is known as the "Seaport Logistics Complex." Construction is expected to begin in the spring, with the facility expected to open by summer 2020, the port said. Oak Brook, Ill.-based CenterPoint will also manage the complex. The port approved the project last December.

Today's announcement marks the first time that a timetable has been laid out for the project, which is believed to be the first time a high-volume distribution center has been placed inside the environs of a U.S. seaport. Oakland's goal is to enable businesses to manage global supply chains adjacent to marine terminals and rail yards. At the same time, Oakland wants to establish itself as a one-stop maritime shop for international shipping and distribution.

The CenterPoint facility will be built on a 27-acre parcel. The property once housed an Army supply base, which was decommissioned the Oakland base in the late 1990s. From 2003 to 2007, the port received about 240 acres of the property. Plans to build a logistics campus have been on the drawing board for well over a decade.

The complex is also envisioned as a transload center where shippers can ready cargo for transfer from ships to trucks or rail. Transloading has become increasingly popular with supply chain managers pursuing cost-effective transport alternatives. CenterPoint officials have said that no other U.S. port has the available land to duplicate Oakland's marriage of transportation and logistics capabilities.

The port opened a $100 million rail yard at the complex in 2016. The long-term plan is for multiple distribution center facilities to follow the CenterPoint project.