El Paso Bud Light, Budweiser distributor to build $31M distribution center on East Side
L&F Distributors, the El Paso area's largest beer distributor, plans to build a $31.1 million distribution center and offices on the East Side to replace its cramped and outdated 40-year-old facility in East Central El Paso.
This will give the company's just over 200 employees in El Paso a facility they deserve, "and hopefully allow us to grow into the future," Lisa Peisen, managing partner of L&F Distributors West, which includes El Paso County, Alpine, Texas, and southeastern New Mexico, said after a Tuesday news conference at City Hall with El Paso officials.
El Paso City Council Tuesday unanimously approved providing L&F just under $1.1 million in tax and permit fee rebates over 10 years for the facility if it meets requirements, including keeping its current workforce and adding 30 new jobs over six years at or above El Paso County's median wage currently at $16.34 per hour. The company's current median wage is $17.69 per hour, according to city information.
El Paso County Commissioners Court also approved providing $246,000 in property tax rebates over seven years if specific requirements are met.
L&F, a 45-year-old, family-owned business based in McAllen, Texas, has operated in El Paso since 2008, when it purchased El Paso-owned Desert Eagle Distributing Co. for an unspecified amount.
It's the largest beer distributor along the Texas and New Mexico border with Mexico, Peisen said.
It distributes Budweiser and other Anheuser-Busch products, craft beers, wines and several non-alcoholic beverage brands, including the Mexican soda Jarritos, Peisen said.
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L&F looked at possible facility sites in Horizon City, Socorro, Canutillo, and Anthony, Texas, before picking a 19-acre site at 9525 Escobar Drive, near the intersection of Interstate 10 and the Loop 375 highway, Peisen and city officials said.
The vacant site, which L&F purchased for $3.5 million, is next to Mesilla Valley Transportation's huge El Paso truck terminal. L&F uses Mesilla Valley to truck its products to El Paso, but that's not why L&F picked that site, Peisen said.
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said it was important to give L&F tax incentives because they had other options.
"We want to make sure the facility and jobs stay in El Paso," Leeser said after the press conference announcing L&F's plans.
Peisen wouldn't say if L&F was offered incentives to locate at sites outside El Paso city limits. But the city's incentives offer was part of the company's due diligence in selecting a site, she said.
Construction of the 232,000 square-foot warehouse/distribution facility and offices will possibly begin in September and hopefully be completed in about 18 months, Peisen said.
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It will replace L&F's 77,000 square-foot facility at 6949 Market St., in an old industrial district near Interstate 10 and Hawkins Boulevard in East Central El Paso. The new facility will have 26 loading docks compared to only five at the current facility.
The new facility will make the company's operations more efficient, Peisen said.
"This was five to six years in the making," Peisen said during the news conference. "We plan to be here for the long term, and we plan to continue to invest in the city of El Paso and into our employees."
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421, vkolenc@elpasotimes.com and @vickolenc on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: L&F Distributors to build $31M distribution center in East El Paso
