The Canby Planning Commission has approved the request by Caruso Produce to construct a 91,000-square-foot produce distribution facility in the Canby Pioneer Industrial Park.
The project, with frontage on Walnut Road to the north and the not-yet-fully developed 4th Avenue to the south, would include cooler storage, conditioned warehouse staging and loading areas, and office space.
Caruso Produce is a family-owned, third-generation wholesale produce distributor, known for providing some of the freshest and highest quality fruits and vegetables to stores throughout Oregon and Washington.
They’re currently based in Tualatin but have outgrown their current digs and are seeking to relocate the entirety of their operations to the new, state-of-the-art facility in Canby.
The facility is intended to operate 24 hours a day and employ approximately 70 employees divided among three shifts. Their plans include 30 loading berths and almost 100 parking spaces.
Under the conditions imposed by the Canby Planning Commission, Caruso will be expected to complete half-street improvements on a portion of SE 4th Avenue, as well as South Mulino Road.
Further improvements to SE 4th may be coming courtesy of a neighboring project located across the street: Stanton Furniture (another Tualatin-based company eyeing a move to Canby) has proposed a new, one hundred sixty seven thousand 167,000 square foot facility that is scheduled to appear before the planning commission on Monday the 27th.
According to a traffic impact study, Caruso’s project is expected to generate an estimated 185 new daily trips, less than a third of which (31 percent) would be truck traffic. The trips would be staggered as much as possible to avoid rush hour, with only 20 or fewer trips anticipated during peak a.m. or p.m. hours.
The project was approved by a vote of 5-1, with Commissioner Jennifer Trundy opposed. Chair John Savory was absent. The project may be appealed to the Canby City Council, but this would be highly unlikely given no one spoke in opposition to the project last week.
Caruso Produce was founded by the Caruso family in 1945, and grew into one of the region’s top wholesalers under the second generation, with president and owner Joe Caruso. Five years ago, Joe passed the reins to his son, Sam Caruso, who continues to run things to this day.
