Massive air cargo logistics center coming to San Bernardino International Airport

San Bernardino International Airport and Hillwood Enterprises, LP are moving forward with plans to develop a massive air cargo logistics center at the airport that would house up to 16 aircraft and provide round-the-clock operations.

The Eastgate Air Cargo Logistics Center, to be built on a 101-acre lot west of Victoria Avenue and south of Third Street, is expected to provide nearly 4,000 jobs and generate millions of dollars in revenue within five years. With a price tag exceeding $200 million, airport Executive Director Mike Burrows called it an “immense opportunity.”

“This is a major development at the airport in an exciting and emerging sector,” Burrows said. “We are growing like gangbusters. This is a regional opportunity.”

Burrows said that, through the airport’s existing partnership with Hillwood, more than 11,575 jobs have been created at the airport since the closure of Norton Air Force Base, currently generating $2.3 billion in economic output for the region.

Eastgate is expected to create 3,800 more jobs, he said.

“The Eastgate project is poised to be a major catalyst for economic and community development in our communities, taking us into the next chapter of our airport development,” Burrows said.

The airport will receive ground rents totaling $2.6 million in the first year, Burrows said. Additionally, aircraft landing and fuel fees are expected to generate $4 million in revenue in the first few years of operation and more than $5.3 million annually when fully operational.

Construction is set to begin within the next 90 days and be completed by the end of the year or early 2020.

Could Amazon be operator?

The airport will enter into a 35-year ground-lease agreement with Hillwood, which will then lease the air cargo logistics center to its tenant/operator, Burrows said. An operator/tenant is expected to be announced within the next 90 days, he said.

It is unclear if the tenant will be Amazon, which already operates a fulfillment center at the airport and, in December, announced it would be expanding its air fleet by 10 Boeing 767-300 cargo jets to further enhance Amazon’s rapid-delivery system.

Amazon spokeswoman Rena Lunak declined to comment in an email Thursday.

John Magness, senior vice president and West Coast market leader for Hillwood, also could not comment on any ongoing negotiations with a potential tenant. In a telephone interview, he said Hillwood first floated the air cargo logistics center plan by Burrows three years ago, and the airport and Hillwood have been mapping out the project ever since.

“It’s a game changer,” Magness said. “This is our time. This is the time for airplanes to be returning to Norton Air Force Base.”

Norton closed in 1994 and eventually was converted into San Bernardino International, which has served as a general aviation and cargo facility.

An air cargo logistics center is a sortation facility for air cargo, whereby goods are delivered from ground to air and from air to ground, Burrows said. “This is an expanded model for what FedEx and UPS currently operate at the airport,” he said.

26 flights daily by 2024

The center will feature a 658,500-square-foot distribution center with connecting aircraft ramps and a 25,000-square-foot maintenance building. When it opens, jets will take off from and land at the airport 12 times daily. By 2024, 26 take-offs and landings are expected every day, around the clock.

The main aircraft to be parked at the air cargo logistics will be Boeing 737s and 767s, according to an initial project study by Todd Dodson & Associates, a San Bernardino environmental consulting firm.

The anticipated influx of cargo jets flying into and out of San Bernardino, beginning as soon as next year, has been met with no resistance from local residents, business owners  or environmental groups, Burrows said.

Environmental effects

Significant adverse environmental impacts to air quality, greenhouse gas, and noise levels could result from the construction and operation of the center, according to the project’s environmental impact report.

While no feasible mitigation measures have been identified that would reduce air quality emissions to levels that are less than significant, noise can be kept to such levels, with the exception being off-site transportation noise affecting adjacent homes, the EIR said.

“We worked closely with all resource agencies including South Coast Air Quality Management District,” Burrows said in an email. He said neighboring residents and business owners were properly notified in advance about the project, which includes several energy-saving design features.

Magness said the noise impact on the community will be less than it was when C-41 aircraft were flying in and out of Norton Air Force Base. He said the new cargo jets are state-of-the-art, with much quieter engines.

“The public should be very happy with what comes in here,” Magness said.

FAA last hurdle

In October, the commission overseeing airport operations, the San Bernardino International Airport Authority, unanimously approved the project’s EIR. Now, Magness said, one more hurdle stands in the way before building can commence — a stamp of approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The FAA gets a say on when and where you can build on airports,” Magness said. Federal clearance for the project is expected within the next 90 days, he said.

San Bernardino Mayor John Valdivia, who also is an airport commission member, said the city is proud of its continuing partnership with Hillwood and the company’s investment in the community.

“San Bernardino City is blessed to have an international airport,” he said, “and this project is hopefully one of many exciting projects coming our way in the near future.”