By Arthur Foulkes, The Tribune-Star
arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com
TERRE HAUTE - Terre Haute-based Clabber Girl Corp. is eyeing the possibility of building a new warehouse/distribution center on East Margaret Avenue near Indiana 46 and Interstate 70.
The company, a food products manufacturer, took the first step required for obtaining a tax abatement for the proposed facility during a Sept. 16 meeting of the Terre Haute Redevelopment Commission.
Terre Haute attorney Rick Shagley presented Clabber Girl's case for an abatement to the three commissioners present at the meeting in City Hall. The commissioners voted in favor of the abatement request without opposition. Three other commissioners were absent from the meeting.
Clabber Girl is "evaluating our entire warehouse and distribution system," said Gary Morris, president and chief operating officer, when asked by the Tribune-Star to comment on the proposed facility. Morris stressed that the company, which employs about 141 people in Terre Haute, has not reached a final decision on the matter.
"We are reviewing several alternatives, including the building of a facility on the property located on Margaret Avenue," Morris stated. "Our final decision will be based on looking at all of the options and choosing the one that will add the most value to the performance of our business. It must make sense not only operationally, but fiscally."
At the Sept. 16 Redevelopment Commission meeting, Shagley said the distribution center would employ about 10 people and would measure more than 153,000 square feet.
Presently, Clabber Girl utilizes more than two dozen distribution centers around the country, Shagley told the commissioners.
"This would create their own distribution center" here in Terre Haute, he said.
"In every way, this is an improvement for the city of Terre Haute," Shagley said.
The distribution center would be at 4780 E. Margaret Ave., Shagley said. The property is owned by Hulman and Co. and is agricultural land at present, he noted.
Additionally, the proposed distribution facility could be expanded and would possibly see "continued growth," Shagley said.
City tax abatements must be approved by the Terre Haute City Council. However, because the proposed facility would lie in a tax increment finance district (TIF), it was necessary for Clabber Girl to seek initial permission for the abatement from the Redevelopment Commission, said Cliff Lambert, executive director of the Terre Haute/Vigo County Department of Redevelopment.