Distribution centers, particularly those that are part of the food supply chain, often need to be located in areas with both a high population density and access to sufficient acreage to build warehouse spaces. However, land prices and energy costs, which typically account for 25% of the operating budget, build in high fixed and operating costs.
To keep construction and energy costs more manageable, distribution centers are building taller. For example, Golden State Foods (GSF), Irvine, Calif., built a 158,000-square-foot distribution center in McCook, Ill. This operation, which services more than 460 McDonald’s restaurants throughout Northern Illinois and Northern Indiana, features a two-story, 17,550-square-foot office component, 135,120 square feet of warehouse/distribution space and a cross-dock configuration with a 40-foot clear height. The high ceilings reduces GSF’s building footprint by 25%, allowing for significant up-front and long-term savings on land and energy costs.