(LIVERMORE,CA) -- Gillig, a leading transit bus manufacturer, will soon be entering into the public engagement process after the city council approved negotiations regarding the request of a 17-acre expansion of its current facility.
Photo Credit: Gillig.com
The original manufacturing facility, located at 451 Discovery Drive, is home to 677,000 square feet of facilities divided between its main office, assembly line, and delivery department, all currently sitting on 40 acres.
“Unfortunately, we’re out of space, and we’ve been out of space for a little while,” Chief Executive Officer and President of Gillig Derek Maunus said.
He noted that due to the business growing in tandem with the complex and sophisticated nature of the products they’re manufacturing, it has prompted Gillig to continuously hire more people. Among the people hired, staffing would consist of both engineers and support personnel, with the majority of them being engineers, he explained.
Maunus also pointed out that to compensate for the lack of space and a growing team, Gillig is currently on a short-term lease with a 30,000-square-foot facility in the neighboring city of Pleasanton. With the temporary space quickly filling up, the C.E.O spoke on the company’s ten-year plan regarding a viable and permanent residency within Livermore.
Photo Credit: City of Livermore / YouTube
“So as I look over the next ten years for our business, it’s time to kind of figure out where we’re going to plan our roofs for our additional office,” the Gillig President said. And while expansion may benefit the transit company, the development process must include negotiations, with one of those discussions revolving around street closure, specifically Discovery Drive.
Concerns were immediately raised regarding the street closure, as FM Industries employee John Franklin pointed out.
“I was a little surprised I hadn't heard about it before,” Franklin said. He noted that FM Industries, a large semiconductor equipment company, has two locations in Livermore. The location at 300 Discovery Drive, in particular, is one of their larger campuses that happens to be in the vicinity of where the street closure would be, Franklin noted.
“We definitely have concerns about the impact of that to our business,” he expressed. He highlighted logistical concerns that could arise with the potential inability to get product out to their employees. He also stated they simply wanted to be included in the conversation regarding the street closure.
Photo Credit: City of Livermore / YouTube
Council Member Evan Branning reassured Franklin that there will be outreach to businesses within the vicinity and that their concerns will be taken seriously. Branning also expressed that as negotiations continue, the city’s priority is to ensure a strong workforce and expressed gratitude towards Gillig for being a great employer within the City of Livermore.
“We certainly welcome Mr. Franklin's comments and additional input as this process is starting now,” Mayor Marchand added. Interestingly, talks about the project had already begun some time ago. “Over a year ago, Gillig approached city staff regarding a potential campus expansion whereby they wanted to expand across Discovery Drive,” Economic Development Manager Jake Potter said during the July 13 city council meeting.
For context, the 17-acre parcel would consist of an 80,000 to 110,000-square-foot main office and an 80,000-square-foot warehouse. It will also include a facility consisting of a ZEV (Zero-Emission Vehicle) infrastructure, which is tasked with testing both electric and hydrogen batteries. The embedded technology that some of their buses contain is part of Gillig's larger goal to reduce emissions and ensure California's environmental compliance goals.
Photo Credit: City of Livermore / YouTube
“Staff does estimate that the proposed campus expansion would generate approximately $450,000 in new annual revenues to the city and an additional 240 jobs out in the area,” Potter added. From here, a unanimous 5-0 vote was passed by the council, and next steps are underway.
Next on the agenda is the public engagement planned for this month and a planning commission consideration meeting in October, among other things.
If you have any comments, concerns or questions, please reach out to me at yikaileau@lead4earth.org
0
0
Comments