When Ashley Furniture moved into a 525,000 square foot facility on South Harlan Road in 2018, it’s doubtful that they had planned on outgrowing the facility in just five years.

But that’s exactly what has happened.

Last month, the Lathrop City Council approved a conditional use permit for the company’s proposed expansion – which was temporarily shelved after community concern during a public hearing prompted further review – that will allow for the construction of a nearly 1.5 million square foot concrete tilt-up building on Dos Reis Road.

The company’s existing 525,000 square foot building – 50,000 square feet of which is utilized as a furniture showroom and retail store – on South Harlan Road will eventually be vacated and put up for either lease or sale.

There will be 110,000 square feet of showroom space in the new 1.5 million square-foot building.

It will include the largest Ashley Homestore in the region coming in at 110,000 square feet — just 6,641 square feet less than the Living Spaces showroom in Manteca at Union Road and the 120 Bypass.

 It will also be the largest distribution center ever built in Lathrop. By comparison, the Wayfair distribution center in Lathrop has 1.1 million square feet.

Because Dos Reis Road runs along the back side of Lathrop High School, and because the land in the area was designated for a new use in the general plan update adopted by the council earlier this year, members of the community raised concerns about the impact of truck traffic in the area and the proximity to students attending school at Lathrop High.

According to the staff report and presentation prepared for the council, the property will be roughly 1,500 feet from the property of the high school – with a green belt of undeveloped land between the two – at its closest point, and an extensive landscape buffer that will ultimately provide more than 388,000 square feet of landscaped to create a cushion between the two competing uses.

All truck traffic, according to the Central Lathrop Specific Plan and outlined in the documents prepared for the Ashley project, must access the site from north of Dos Reis Road – including Manthey Road, Roth Road, and I-5.

As a condition of approval, the applicant must install signage on Lathrop Road, Spartan Way, Golden Valley Parkway, Dos Reis Road, and Manthey Road to the south of the north driveway to the property that clearly prohibits trucks from using that route.

Onsite signage must also be posted on the site that prohibits trucks from turning right on Manthey Road when leaving the site – sending all trucks north to Roth Road where they can access I-5.

One of the additional conditions of approval will be the applicant constructing a roundabout at the intersection of Dos Reis Road and Golden Valley Parkway – serving as an “enhanced gateway” to the area and featuring monumentation, enhanced landscaping, lighting, and other associated elements.

Pedestrian actuated flashing warning lights are also stipulated as a condition.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.