Trailer parking near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is notoriously constrained, and it is likely to get worse. Hoping to gain customers who struggle with this issue, some real estate developers are taking a new approach.
Finding adequate facilities to park trucks and store shipping containers is difficult throughout the United States, but the Greater Los Angeles area poses an even bigger challenge for the logistics sector.
The port complexes are closed in with boundaries on all sides from residential neighborhoods or wetlands that are not possible to build on.
On top of that, a Harbor Gateway Community Plan under review by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning would only allow 25% or less of industrial outdoor storage within the designated area.
The plan area is approximately 3,229 acres linking the harbor and the San Pedro, Wilmington and Harbor City communities to the main area of Los Angeles. The city touts improved transit, greater pedestrian development, park facilities and clean industrial uses that “will contribute to a healthy and active environment.”
But this new zoning plan, along with new emission rules from the Environmental Protection Agency and growing activity at the twin ports will likely only constrict industrial storage more.
Carriers looking to store any asset related to freight, like empty chassis or containers, typically search for parking off port property to avoid costly daily rate fees, driving up demand for these facilities.
Thomas Wasson, enterprise trucking carrier expert at FreightWaves, says carriers often look for their own leased spots to better handle costs.
Some developers and real estate managers are taking the opportunity to transform old business sites into new trailer storage facilities.
CBRE represents a developing site like this, hoping to entice carriers looking for spots to lease as parking becomes tighter. Atlas Capital Group is demolishing an aging office facility on 5 acres and replacing it with a striped concrete slab that will accommodate 193 trailers. The converted property on South Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles will be ready by June, according to CBRE.
CBRE Senior Vice President James Hooks, who is the broker for the site, told FreightWaves the yard will focus on empty containers on chassis for those seeking to avoid storage penalties at the ports. Inland Empire storage yards are further from the ports and mostly utilized for containers moving cross-country.
Atlas intends to create an aesthetically pleasing environment for the surrounding area, balancing utility with charm to blend into the neighborhood.
The fenced site is fronted by a 14-foot concrete wall covered with stucco to hide containers from passersby.
Hooks explained other industrial sites can also be more creative with the environment, by using living walls or lining them with ivy. He also noted that the ability to process trucks inside the facility, instead of at the security gate, will reduce congestion and community disturbances.
Dennis S
Thank you trucker Geske!
R. Geske
Another instance of “not in my back yard,”. No Truck parking. Bare shelves is when the Politicians and the public wonder, “where are the trucks?” and “why is the supply chain broken”. Trucks are a very big part of the economy; but the trucking industry has not done a good job of working on positive public opinion. It seems the only knowledge the general public has of trucks is hearing the news when there is a large pile up on Interstate 80 or when there is a truck that is in front of them on the road slowing them from getting to where they need to go. Nothing is ever presented in a positive tone; traffic congestion, pollution, accidents are all associated and blamed on trucking. How about, Thank a trucker? when you go to the store and you have 8 choices of apples or 100 different styles of shoes to choose ?