Photo: Dr. Daniel Boudoin.
Like several large urban agglomerations, Marseilles has real estate constraints leaving limited availability for land to be used for urban freight distribution. In such a context enterprises involved in freight distribution were electing for sites further away from the city center, exacerbating congestion. To mitigate this issue (logistics sprawl) SOGARIS, a major manager of distribution centers and logistics zones, in partnership with SNCF (the French national railway company), developed a logistic zone on a highly accessible site adjacent to the port, with good road and public transit accessibility and with rail connectivity. The 9 hectare brownfield site located about 2 km from downtown Marseilles was built on land owned by SNCF (part of a former rail yard).