PORT HUENEME : Council Supports Warehouse for Port
The City Council on Wednesday cleared the path for the construction of a fruit and meat refrigerated warehouse at the South Terminal of the Port of Hueneme.
The council’s unanimous vote enables the Oxnard Harbor District, in conjunction with Cool Carriers Pacific Inc., to immediately take bids for construction of the 137,000-square-foot warehouse, which is expected to bring up to 100 jobs to local dockworkers.
Cool Carriers, a Long Beach-based produce shipping company, will import bananas and meats and export citrus.
Construction of the $8-million facility is expected to be completed this fall, and the district anticipates that the warehouse will add an additional $1 million in gross revenues annually as a result of the warehouse operation. The district now grosses $5 million annually.
Anthony Taormina, executive director of Oxnard Harbor District, said that in addition to providing jobs to the city, the district will pay the city of Port Hueneme nearly $750,000 over the next two years to be used for the improvement of roads leading to and from the new warehouse.
Tom Figg, the city’s community development director, lauded the agreement as a “watershed event” for the city and the harbor district, which have a history of contentious relations.
“The agreement paves the way for future joint projects,” Figg said.
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