FORT WORTH-Allens Inc., a family-owned and operated vegetable processor, has purchased the former Ranch Style Beans facility at 1734 East El Paso St. from ConAgra. The 211,743-square-foot property, which sits on 20 acres near downtown, is valued at $15 million, according to the Tarrant County Appraisal District.
The Siloam Springs, AR-based company will invest $5 million in new equipment to retrofit and modernize the facility, which ConAgra closed in late 2009. It will use the facility for its newest canning facility, bringing 140 jobs to the community.
The Fort Worth City Council approved Allen’s final incentive package this week. It gives the company a 50% tax abatement for a maximum of 10 years, according to David Berzina, executive vice president of economic development for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.
In deciding to offer the tax abatement, the City did a cost benefit analysis to weigh the benefits and drawbacks, Berzina tells GlobeSt. “We looked at an aging facility and what happens if it stays vacant,” he explains. “Only bad things can happen with it; it becomes a blight on the community. A 50% tax abetment outweighs the potential blight.”
Berzina also points out that Allens plans to hire a number of former Ranch Style Beans employees who were laid off last year. “Not only have we taken away the potential for that building to become an eyesore, but we’re putting people back to work,” he notes.
In addition to the new equipment, Allens has agreed to invest $20,000 for aesthetic improvements to the facility, which was being marketed by David Sours, a first vice president in CB Richard Ellis’ Food Facilities Group.
Berzina tells GlobeSt. that the City had been working with ConAgra to backfill the facility with one of its suppliers when Allens contacted the City. The deal has been in the works since February, he notes.
Allens, which owns and operates 13 plants throughout the country, expects the new plant to be operational by June 15, 2010.
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