Stockton port approves $40 million cold storage development

Stockton port approves $40 million cold storage development    The Stockton Port Commission has given the go ahead for the development of a more than 400,000-square-foot cold storage distribution and warehouse facility at the Central California port.
   The port commission approved an environmental impact review of the proposed project and also voted to grant the developer, Modesto-based M&L Commodities, a 50-year lease for the 18-acre port site.
   M&L will operate the planned $40 million four-warehouse facility under the name Inland Cold Storage-Stockton, under a contract with Riverside-based Inland Cold Storage. The facility will handle fruit, produce, meats and other food products for customers such as growers, food producers and grocery companies.
   While most of the 18-acre site at the port is vacant, several old buildings, including a dry bulk warehouse, will have to be removed.
   The development will be built in several phases over the next several years, with the construction of a 100,000-square-foot cold storage warehouse kicking off the first phase. The first phase will only involve trucked goods, but future phases will incorporate imported ocean cargo.