Food industry design/build leader Stellar has completed construction of two refrigerated distribution facilities for Lineage Logistics, LLC in Vernon, California.

The two adjoining facilities — totaling 200,000 square feet of refrigerated storage and office space — started as one cold storage building that Lineage acquired.

Stellar completed the $49.4 million design-build project in two phases, demolishing half of the original facility and rebuilding it as Lineage’s “Area 8” facility. Once the Area 8 facility was complete, it became operational and Stellar converted the second half of the building into the company’s new “Area 7” facility.

“Not only was the original facility half a century old and in need of upgrades but its layout didn’t meet Lineage’s needs,” says Mike Smith, Stellar’s vice president of operations. “These new facilities provide a lot more capabilities, create additional storage space and allow for increased productivity.”

The two distribution facilities are mirror images of each other in terms of layout, and each one features:

  • Refrigerated loading docks
  • A freezer warehouse
  • An underground parking garage
  • Traditional storage racking as well as Tippmann racking with a blast freeze system
  • Two stories of office space

The freezer in the Area 8 facility consists of two separate “convertible rooms” that can fluctuate temperature depending on the product being stored. The two buildings are connected by a cross-aisle area that houses various maintenance rooms, restrooms, workshops, and electrical and fire pump rooms.

The exterior of the two structures are mainly comprised of insulated metal panel (IMP) walls, but one wall was only three feet away from a neighboring building, meaning it had to be a fire wall to comply with code.