The facilities that produce, package, store, and distribute cold foods were truly essential in helping the supply chain satisfy record demand for those products during 2020, while the paradigm shift created by pandemic shopping habits—particularly e-commerce—is still being felt today. As a result, many design-build firms are busier than ever, as the need for cold storage space, plant expansions, facility renovations, fulfillment centers and distribution hubs has only increased.

North Carolina Ports has reached an agreement with Cold Summit Development to build a 280,000 square foot multi-suite cold storage facility located on the Ports Raleigh Street property. The facility would offer 40,000 pallet positions and could house a broad range of product categories, including pork, poultry, produce, grocery as well as life sciences at temperatures ranging from negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit to 57 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Stellar, a fully integrated firm focused on design, engineering, construction, refrigeration and mechanical services worldwide, is proud to welcome Garland Smith as a business developer in the company's Food Logistics division.

Whole Foods Market has expanded its refrigerated distribution center in Cheshire, Connecticut, to support the significant growth of their store development program throughout the North Atlantic and Northeast Regions. As more consumers turned to online grocery shopping, the demand for cold storage space skyrocketed, and the business case for Whole Foods to grow this facility became even more essential.

Groundbreaking has started on Houston ColdPort, a 315,101-square-foot speculative cold storage warehouse in Houston, Texas. Houston ColdPort will feature a 50-foot clear height warehouse, a 60-foot-deep cold dock, 38 dock positions with vertical storing hydraulic dock leveler equipment, LED lighting throughout, a Tyco Quell dry fire sprinkler system, a 200-foot-deep truck court with 57 trailer parking spaces and ample automobile parking. Houston ColdPort can accommodate a single tenant or can be demised for a two-tenant layout.

Cold Creek Solutions (CCS) has announced a second project in the state of Texas, this time in San Antonio. The roughly 305,000-square-foot facility will provide storage for 45,000 pallets of frozen or refrigerated products upon completion. Unlike existing vintage facilities and other new builds in the region, this new project, designed by ARCO National Construction, will allow for efficient large-scale or multi-operator build-out. CCS anticipates breaking ground this fall, with the facility scheduled to open in late 2022.

RLS Logistics is building an 83,000-square-foot cold storage facility in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, set to open Q1 of 2022. The facility will provide frozen and refrigerated food manufacturers, distributors, processors, and importers in the Springfield and Boston region with public cold storage warehouse capacity relief and access to RLS' temperature controlled less than truckload shipping programs.

Almost every cold foods facility reaches a crossroads where a decision must be made to either move into a larger, new-build structure capable of handling a company’s business growth, or take the renovations route to update and expand an existing building.

Cold Creek Solutions is building a 374,560-square-foot cold storage facility in Denton, north of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The company has leased nearly 50% of its facility after executing a 15-year agreement with third-party logistics provider, Southwest Warehouse Services.

Yukon Ventures announced its second project in the state of Texas. Strategically situated on the I-10 Corridor, the project in Seguin, Texas, will have the ability to service both Austin and San Antonio within less than a one-hour drive, as well as the Houston ports and the US-Mexico border in less than a three-hour drive in either direction.