Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Josh Cox, Vice President Development, Hillwood Investments-Speedway Commerce Center Meeting In-Person and via ZOOM
Minutes
Present: Megan Barajas, Deborah Barmack, Carole Beswick, Bill Blankenship, Rebecca Boydston, Greg Bradbard, Mike Burrows, Chris Carrillo, Ken Coate, Josh Cox, Kevin Dyerly, Louis Goodwin, Otis Greer, Fran Inman, Lowell King, Steve Lambert, Mike Layne, Bill Lemann, Darcy McNaboe, Miguel Mendoza, John Mirau, Scott Morse, Dan Murphy, Vikki Ostermann, Bansree Parikh, Catherine Pritchett, Thomas Rice, Michael Rivera, Dan Roberts, Dan Schenkel, Kristine Scott, Paul Shimoff, Eric Ustation, Reggie Webb, and Frank Zabaleta.
Guests: Mark Gibbs and Mark Johnsonbaugh.
Kevin Dyerly, Chair, presiding.
Motion by L. King/Second/Passed: Minutes from May 2, 2023.
Mike Layne introduced Josh Cox, Vice President Development, Hillwood Investments who joined us in person to discuss NASCAR and Hillwood’s redevelopment of the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.
Hillwood Industrial / Logistics was founded in 1988 by Ross Perot, Jr. and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. They are a multidisciplinary real estate company with 778 associates. Hillwood is a leader in developing and acquiring properties for industrial and logistics customers. Their experience spans 63 markets across North America and Europe and their expertise spans every phase of a project, from investment and acquisition through development and management.
Hillwood’s west coast team consists of 30 associates, half working on development and half on in-house construction. Norton Air Force Base and its redevelopment was handled by the Inland Valley Development Agency (IVDA) and Hillwood to create Alliance California. They have developed over 15M sq. ft. which has created 14,000 jobs, increasing the tax base for San Bernardino. Private investments in this project total $1.4B.
Hillwood has partnered with NASCAR to reposition and redevelop surplus land at their tracks across the country to create economic engines that serve the communities in which NASCAR operates. NASCAR has had a presence in San Bernardino County since 1995 when they developed contaminated land from the Kaiser Steel Mill to create the California Speedway which opened in 1997. The closure of Kaiser Steel Mill left legacy environmental issues and land use covenants prohibit the site for residential development but can be used for racing and industrial purposes. The Speedway, since renamed Auto Club Speedway, has been on the Cup schedule for 25 years and generates more than $105M annually for the County. NASCAR’s highly anticipated NextGen project will convert the 2-mile track to a half-mile short track which fans prefer. They will also upgrade hospitality areas and create new suites to foster intense, intimate race watching. The track reduction will allow for Hillwood’s proposed Speedway Commerce Center that can virtually surround the track. The market for all major categories of industrial real estate such as a variety of distribution centers, e-commerce facilities, and last-mile logistics centers and hubs are in great demand. Hillwood plans to build one large (1,286,550 sq ft.) and one small (28,519 sq ft) building initially. Added buildings can be configured to the needs of the customer. Community benefits include:
- Payment to community – community benefit fee
- Payment for future improvements of neighboring roadways
- Electric truck and car grant programs
- Design to LEED standards / solar power for 50% of building needs
- Autonomous vehicle infrastructure for future innovations
- Multi-use trail connecting Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga
- Pocket parks with exercise pop-outs
- NASCAR-themed art walk and banner program
- Contribution to job training programs through Chaffey College InTech Center
- Public school enhancements
- Ancillary commercial / general retail / food services along Cherry Avenue frontage
Hillwood’s electrical vehicle grant program will provide funding for the purchase of the following vehicles:
- Heavy Duty Electric Truck Grants (7 grants = $525,000)
- Medium Duty Electric Truck Grants (6 grants = $243,000)
- Local Delivery Truck Grants (6 grants = $162,0000)
- Local Community Passenger Vehicle Grants (1 grant = $75,000)
Administration of the electric truck grants shall prioritize applicants who use trucks in Western San Bernardino County and along the Interstate 10 corridor. The program for passenger vehicles prioritizes San Bernardino County residents.
Air quality: design features/mitigation
- Limit idling to 3 minutes
- Tier 3 (Model year 2010 or newer) trucks required
- New clean diesel technology has reduced emissions from heavy-duty trucks and buses by 99% for NOx and 98% for particulate emissions*
- EV and bike parking
- Conduit for future electric truck charging in truck yards
- Electric truck/vehicle grant funding program ($1 M+)
- Zero emission electric cargo handling equipment
- By 2045, every new truck sold in CA will be required to be zero-emission.
Designed to achieve LEED certification with sustainable design elements throughout the project with energy efficiency through use of:
- Smart shadow meters
- 5% roof skylights
- 100% LED lighting
- Rooftop solar
- Drought-tolerant landscape
- Electric vehicle charging stations
- Water efficiency
- Reclaimed water
- Multi-use trail with pocket parks and exercise stations
- Construction recycling
- 100% onsite concrete
A Q & A period followed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30a.m.