Amazon recently acquired a large swath of undeveloped land in eastern Pleasanton for about $75 million and plans to open a distribution warehouse in the future, adding to the e-commerce retail giant’s growing footprint in the Tri-Valley.
Located near the corner of Stanley Boulevard and Valley Avenue, the 58.5-acre parcel zoned industrial is bordered by the Pleasanton Garbage Service, Cope Lake and several quarries to the north, with Shadow Cliffs Lake directly south across Stanley.
Mayor Karla Brown told the Weekly in an interview on Sept. 23 that the site is “designed and well-suited for an e-warehouse use.”
“In addition, it helps to separate residential from the dangerous and dirty industrial uses of gravel mining, so I support the Amazon warehouse use in that site,” Brown said.
Amazon representatives did not respond to a request for comment as of press time Wednesday.
The site is completely within city limits as well as the urban growth boundary line, unlike the adjacent parcels to the east, and will not affect the East Pleasanton Specific Plan in any way, according to Brown.
Besides being next to the garbage transfer station, Brown said the site isn’t suitable for building housing because it’s “right next to the rock quarry so it’s dirty, noisy.”
“It’s just a very small portion of the property and some of the least desirable parts,” Brown said. “It backs up to Stanley Boulevard and the railroad tracks; this is not prime property.”
The warehouse is likely to be a jobs center and source of tax revenue for the city, though Brown said she doesn’t “know the numbers” yet.
“I’m pleased Amazon’s coming forward,” Brown added. “I appreciate the new jobs, the potential revenue from having jobs and businesses in Pleasanton. I think that’s exciting.”
The warehouse isn’t anticipated to significantly increase traffic; Brown said “it’s not really creating a lot more traffic” and that trucks and vans will have several routes available routinely used by other delivery vehicles.
“The large trucks will come down Stanley, turn on Busch, or take Highway 84, hit Stanley, go down Valley to Busch Road,” Brown said. “They’re not cutting through neighborhoods, and the minivans are driving in Pleasanton already making product deliveries.”
Two years ago Amazon moved into the former Circuit City warehouse in Livermore off I-580 near Vasco Road, which serves as the company’s California Delivery Station. Amazon also has other warehouses and distribution centers in other East Bay cities including Hayward, Dublin and Milpitas.
