Business View Magazine | December 2019

309 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019 STOCKTON, CAL I FORNI A offer easy freeway access and are located within five to fifteen minutes of either the airport or seaport. The Port of Stockton is the third largest landholder port in California, has a Foreign Trade Zone designation, and a deep water channel that has an average depth of 35 feet. The Port operates a diversified transportation center on 2,100 acres, with berthing space for 15 vessels, including Panamax ships, and more than 1.1 million square feet of dockside transit sheds. There is an additional 7.7 million square feet of rail-served warehousing and more than 300 acres of developable land available for lease to serve commercial and industrial uses and cargoes. The Stockton Metropolitan Airport also has a Foreign Trade Zone designation as well as one of the longest runways in the region, making it the only non-hub airport in Northern California able to accommodate the entire fleet of wide-body aircrafts. Stockton also has 19 designated Opportunity Zones, offering a variety of investment opportunities of all sizes. Each of Stockton’s OZs is leveraged by various unique characteristics, anchor institutions, and competitive advantages. Higher education institutions, the Stockton Metropolitan Airport, the Port of Stockton, the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe intermodal facility, historic neighborhoods, downtown waterfront, and local entrepreneurs that are located within Stockton’s opportunity zones, along with its growing industries, offer opportunities that are ripe for investment. “In my mind, Opportunity Zones are one incentive to invest in Stockton, but it’s not the only incentive,” Wright avers. “The state offers a lot of incentives, as well, so it’s one extra tool in the toolbox. We’re open and willing to work with anyone that comes in and wants to build something in an Opportunity Zone.” Wright emphasizes that Stockton is a business- friendly city with a diversity of programs for small businesses. “If you’re a small business here, we offer things like code enforcement