A Moreno Valley, Calif., developer is moving forward with plans to build what it says will be a $25-billion Inland Empire freight hub east of Los Angeles, recently selecting Stantec to lead design and engineering for the 40.6-million-sq-ft warehouse space over 4 sq miles. Construction is slated to start this year. Highland Fairview plans to add 6 million sq ft per year until the build-out in 2030.

Stantec is working on “future-ready and highly sustainable infrastructure” for the project, a spokesperson says. The plan for sustainability has “not yet been tackled on this scale in the U.S,” Brianna Daniels, principal-in-charge at Stantec, said in a statement.

Developer Highland Fairview says it has approval for buildings up to 80 ft tall at the World Logistics Center, a build-to-suit complex of 27 sites. Stantec leads a team that also includes Michael Baker International handling a highway interchange for access to the site, ENGEO providing geotechnical engineering and Dudek addressing environmental permitting.

In 2021, the developerreached a deal有几个反对该项目的环境团体，同意安装现场屋顶太阳能发电所允许的最大金额，提供电动汽车充电器，并为所有仓库建筑物的核心和外壳实现LEED-Silver认证以及其他可持续性功能。开发人员的目标是使中心成为碳中性设施。

Sustainability plans also include water conservation, with an anticipated 70% reduction in water use compared to the city’s general plan—saving 653 million gallons of water every year. Stormwater on the site would be treated before it is discharged, maintaining historic drainage patterns to protect downstream environments.

The site is located about 75 miles east of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on California State Route 60. Caltrans and the Riverside County Transportation Commission completed a $113-million highwaywidening project on Route 60last year, adding truck lanes east of Moreno Valley heading toward Interstate 10. The developer says 11 western states and about 80 million people can be reached within a day’s drive from the site.

该项目并不是该地区唯一有助于从两个港口移动货运的项目。去年秋天，BNSF Railway宣布it intends to build a $1.5-billion intermodal freight facility in Barstow, about 130 miles east.