Industrial park project in Los Banos progresses slowly

City Manager Steve Carrigan is hoping to have more information next month on plans for an industrial park city leaders hope will bring thousands of jobs to Los Banos.

Carrigan said $90,000 has been paid to PlaceWorks, a Santa Ana-based planning and design firm, to create a guidance package and site plan for the project.

“We should have something to look at in the next 30 days or so,” Carrigan said. “A site plan is important because it will tell us how much square-footage is on this 1,800 acres, and when we find out how much square footage is on the 1,800-acre project then we can do a water study. That’s probably the most important piece right now.”

Carrigan and other city officials are attempting to develop a 1,585-acre industrial park along Interstate 5 and Highway 165. Los Banos Municipal Airport would be moved to a 300-acre piece of land adjacent to the industrial park as part of the project and a medical facility would be built where the airport is now.

The plan is expected to eventually create about 10,000 jobs. The project is also expected to generate more than $5 million in annual property and sales tax revenue.

Carrigan said a market study will be done after the water study is completed. He said if there is sufficient water for the project the city will have to determine how many companies would be interested in the facility.

Carrigan has repeatedly said relocating the airport is of the utmost importance, even if the rest of the project doesn’t come to fruition.

The city has been interested in moving the airport for years. Its location on Airport Road near West I Street and Pacheco Boulevard prohibits the city from fulfilling plans to grow Los Banos westward. The Federal Aviation Administration does not allow certain developments such as three-story buildings west of Los Banos because of the airport’s location, officials have said.

Los Banos has hired Robert Wadell of Burlingame-based Wadell Engineering Corp. to conduct a three-month study of four locations where the airport could be moved. Carrigan said the City Council will eventually choose from about two locations to which the airport can be moved. He said after that step is completed a soil study and a yearlong wind study will be conducted.

Los Banos will have to spend millions of dollars on the industrial park project, including studies, land purchases, infrastructure and other items. The city also has to determine how much money it will cost to clean up any contaminated ground that may exist at the current airport.

“We’re heading out into open water here and it’s going to get expensive. It’s not for the weak,” Carrigan said. “(But) these projects will lay the foundation for the future of Los Banos.”

Carrigan said if the industrial park plan does not happen he wants to make sure the medical facility does.

“The hospital, I’m a firm believer that we can do that. We’ve had interest from the big hospitals, the Kaisers, the Sutter Healths, Clovis Community. The trick for them is we need to get that letter from the FAA saying you can move your runway,” Carrigan said.

This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Industrial park project in Los Banos progresses slowly."