California's wealthiest farming family threatens to reshape small town with new ... trends now
The wealthiest farming family in California is planning to expand an industrial warehouse complex to transform a small town into an international trading hub.
Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the billionaires behind The Wonderful Company, already own a sprawling distribution center in Shafter, northwest of Bakersfield.
Now they are eager to expand the center to create an international hub to position the county at the forefront of the global shift to online shopping, according to a report in The LA Times.
The move would convert 1,800 acres of the company's Kern County almond groves into additional warehousing space.
The proposal has come under fire over environmental concerns with critics saying it will increase truck traffic and worsen air quality.
Billionaire owners of the Wonderful Company, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, own a distribution center in Shafter, northwest of Bakersfield
The development would transform Shafter from a small town, with a population of just 20,162, into a booming trade hub.
As part of the redevelopment, the company is proposing building a new highway that would divert trucks from the center of Shafter.
They also want to build an inland rail terminal - at a cost of at least $120 million - to funnel products from port by rail, reducing the reliance on State Route 99.
Wonderful already build and lease warehouses to huge online shopping companies for the storage of goods and processing of orders.
They say that the expansion project and the accompanying infrastructure plans are different to a flock of giant distribution centers that have proliferated in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
While many residents welcome the plans and the new jobs but others are concerned about the environmental impacts.
Gustavo Aguirre, assistant
