ROANOKE, Texas (Nov. 12, 2001)—Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. will open a new warehouse in Roanoke, Texas, late next year to serve a 10-state area in the Southwest.
BFS has contracted a local developer to build a 608,322-sq.-ft. building to its specifications in the 150,000 acre AllianceTexas industrial development near Roanoke, a town of 3,000 near the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
The new facility is slated for opening by the fourth quarter of 2002; it will replace two smaller warehouses in nearby Grand Prairie, BFS said.
The site offers BFS close access to several major highways and a Burlington Northern Santa Fe intermodal rail yard, according to Nelson Miller, director of physical distribution for BFS, who also cited “attractive” financial incentives. BFS will lease the building for 10 years.
Roanoke city officials granted BFS $265,000 in economic incentives to locate the warehouse in Roanoke, according to local news reports. The incentives include a $65,000 tax waiver to be applied to the building permit, and annual grants of $20,000 for 10 years.
The new facility will employ 150 and have a capacity for 750,000 tires. It will stock both domestically built tires and imported tires from Latin American factories, BFS said.
City officials estimated the warehouse will provide $180,000 in annual property taxes.
Elsewhere in the U.S., BFS operates warehouses in Woodbridge, Ill.; Ontario, Calif.; Allentown, Pa.; Albany, Ga., and Portland, Ore.