Plan for large North Long Beach warehouse approved over neighbors’ objections

The Long Beach Planning Commission on Thursday recommended the construction of a 300,000 square-foot warehouse in the city’s north end, bringing the years-long effort before the City Council despite objections from nearby residents.

In a 3-1 vote — with commissioner Michael Clemson dissenting — the board certified the site plan and environmental impact review of the proposed 50-foot, 304,000 square-foot warehouse at 5910 Cherry Ave. that will house 336 parking spaces and 44 truck bays. It will next go before the City Council in September for final approval.

Commissioners also recommended the property be rezoned from heavy to light industrial, a move city planners say foreshadows a coming trend in that North Long Beach neighborhood to taper off heavier, emission-dense industries.

“The rezoning of this property is taking that and moving that forward,” Amy Harbin, a city planner with the Community Development Department. “So you won’t see heavy manufacturing and things like that. You’ll see the tank farm transition out.”

The 14-acre site was purchased in March 2022 for $50.7 million. Its buyer, Link Logistics Real Estate, the industrial arm of New York-based investment firm Blackstone, outlined plans later that year to convert the site, a ‘50s-era tank farm, into a logistics hub.

But the project stalled, marred by community pushback. Yemi Alade, a development manager with Link Logistics, told commissioners they have since met with neighbors in an attempt to quell concerns.

In its new submission, developers included more office space, 2.6 MW in solar panels and additional landscaping to spruce up the look of the property. EV charging stations will also be onsite, Alade said. Developers also agreed to create a grant partnership with Neyham Neighborhood Association to fund improvements to a historic fire station nearby.

“As a Long Beach resident myself for the past five years, I have an extra sense of excitement to bring this amazing project to the community,” Alade said.

Construction will bring 120 local jobs, as well as a 12-foot noise barrier, limits on construction and delivery hours, among other mitigation measures.

Once complete, operations at the warehouse will employ an estimated 500 people and inject $378 million into the city’s economy and $6 million in property and sales taxes in the first five years, Alade said. A tenant has not yet been secured, officials later noted.

Several union members, including those of the local 562 Southwest Regional Council Of Carpenters and LIUNA Local 1309, delivered remarks in support of the project, highlighting the prevailing wages they said are being guaranteed to construction workers. Some brought their spouses and children.

“Prevailing wage is a livable wage, where members can take care of their families, deal with inflation and the price of gas,” said Ray Lawson of the local 562.

But the project will also bring traffic. Hilda Hayton, president of the Puente Latino Association, said it would bring upwards of 1,500 trucks through the Cherry Manor neighborhood on a daily basis.

And with that will come noise, pollution and danger, residents said, to those who live to the immediate west of Cherry Avenue and rely on it for their commute to school, church or work.

Several schools are in the surrounding community, including two within a mile radius of the site.

“It’s inexcusable to think the families of North Long Beach would welcome this development,” said Janette Newman, a nearby resident of 19 years. “Or that you as leaders would approve it.”

“Give the folks in this room jobs, have them build homes that will have a positive impact on our community, not something we know will have a negative impact on the already underserved areas of our community,” Newman added.

Residents stymied the plan last year, appealing the city’s review of the project’s environmental impacts they said didn’t align with Long Beach’s pollution-conscious rezoning plans.

“This may be a clean business, but it’s going to be a nuisance for traffic,” said resident Kirk Davis.

At the meeting, arguments wedged over what residents felt Long Beach needed most: good paying jobs or safe, clean roads.

“This generation needs jobs, a place where they can stop looking into other sources and a place where they can provide for themself,” said Dana Martinez, a local resident.

Commissioners recommended the plan on the conditions the developer builds a mid-block crossing to the bus stop across the street. Sidewalk improvements, as well as planting of shrubs and nearly 100 box trees were also included in the conditions of approval.

One commissioner tacked on a condition that the developer create a noise control plan for when the building is occupied.

With the exception of a county animal control building and fast food, storage and industrial buildings, some of which are abandoned, abut the property on all sides but west. In her presentation, Harbin noted that due to migration of nearby water contamination, the Cherry Avenue property is unfit for housing.

This development comes as Blackstone has invested $15 billion since the start of 2024 into logistics and rental housing — two-and-a-half times the same period last year.

“We are planting the seeds of future value creation,” Blackstone Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman said in a statement.

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