OAKLEY (BCN)
A project that could bring 2,800 jobs to a site in Oakley in east Contra Costa County will break ground with the help of city and county leaders at a ceremony on Tuesday.
The Oakley Logistics Center, a light industrial site at 6000 Bridgehead Road near where BNSF Railway tracks and the Antioch Bridge/state Highway 160 meet along the southern bank of the San Joaquin River, is a project by Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development.
The developer, which has similar light manufacturing and distribution properties around the country and clients that include Amazon and Ford, says one tenant has already been secured but its identity is not yet being disclosed.
According to a city staff report, the development is expected to bring 2,800 full-time jobs and generate $475.4 million in total economic activity in the county, including significant revenue for the city’s General Fund and the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District.
The project is at the location of a former DuPont chemical plant that stopped production in 1998. The City Council gave final approval to the plans last month, making way for the groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday.
As part of the development agreement, NorthPoint will make changes such as new traffic lights, turn lanes or widened streets on Bridgehead Road and some nearby thoroughfares like Wilbur Avenue, Main Street and Big Break Road.
The plans call for five buildings to eventually be built on 143 acres on the site. Two buildings have planned construction starting this month and the full buildout is expected to finish within four years, according to the city.
County Supervisor Diane Burgis and Oakley Mayor Kevin Romick are among the expected speakers at the 3:45 p.m. groundbreaking event Tuesday.
“Since Oakley’s incorporation as a city 20 years ago, this property has been considered a key to job growth and a potential hub of industry,” Romick said in a news release. “To see this project come to fruition is so gratifying and exciting for the entire Oakley community.”