A developer is planning to add cold storage warehouse space on property near the Port of Wilmington. The recently announced project adds to the area’s investments in cold chain and cold storage logistics – keeping the heat down on temperature-sensitive products ranging from food to pharmaceuticals.
 
Cold Summit Development will bring nearly 460,000 square feet of cold storage space in two buildings to property owned by the port off Raleigh Street, officials with N.C. Ports announced in late-August.
 
The N.C. Ports Authority board approved a 30-year lease agreement with the developer for nearly 35 acres on two lots. The lease is the result of a process that started two years ago to draw interest in the Raleigh Street property for the development of cold storage opportunities, port officials said.

“This partnership represents continued investments in our strategy to become a leader in c old chain logistics,” N.C. Ports Executive Director Brian Clark said. “We are particularly excited that this announcement gives more options and capacity to North Carolina’s business, including agriculture, grocery sector and life sciences.”
 
The project includes two phases. In the first phase, Cold Summit plans to develop a 300,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse. The facility will have a multi-suite, multi-temperature building with three rooms and 40,000 to 50,000 pallet spaces with the ability to handle frozen or chilled products at temperatures ranging from -20 degrees Fahrenheit to 57 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
The developer has 15 months to begin construction on the first phase of the project.
 
The second phase could be 159,000 square feet in a second building. It would include 17,000 pallet positions for goods stored in the -70 degrees Fahrenheit to 57 degrees Fahrenheit range, officials said.
 
The announcement comes after the Port of Wilmington finished a new refrigerated container yard last year, boosting the port’s on-terminal refrigerated container (reefer) plugs from 235 to 775 in the $14 million construction project. The ports authority will invest another $19 million to further expand the refrigerated container yard next year.