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Ben E. Keith Breaks Ground on $70M North Little Rock Center

3 min read

Ben E. Keith Company of Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday broke ground on a $70 million, 426,000-SF headquarters and distribution center at 8801 Hwy. 70 E. in North Little Rock.

The center, which will sit on a 72-acre site at the northwest corner of the intersection of Interstate 440 and U.S. Highway 70, is scheduled to open in spring 2017. It will consolidate the two central Arkansas locations that house the company’s Mid-South Division and add 74 new jobs, bringing the company’s total Arkansas employment to 345.

Ben E. Keith President Mike Roach said the facility will represent the largest, most technologically advanced, modern, most LEED approved facility in the region, and joked that the tent hosting the groundbreaking and subsequent luncheon was bigger than the company’s first warehouse in North Little Rock.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson attended Thursday morning’s groundbreaking, and said the state had to compete with other states to keep Ben E. Keith in central Arkansas. 

“We’re happy to compete, but we’re also happy to win,” he said. “This carries on the momentum we have in Arkansas and tells other states that we’re serious about business.”

Hutchinson lauded the company’s use of technological innovations, which he said will be evident in the new facility.

“Whether it’s food distribution, retail, agriculture, it’s all about technology and utilizing more efficiencies through technology.”

North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith said the process to keep Ben E. Keith in town began three and a half years ago.

“This has been a long time coming,” he said.

The food service products and alcohol distributor purchased 66 acres of the land in November 2013 for $1.75 million from George and Cynthia Glover. The project is backed by a $100 million industrial revenue bond issue through Pulaski County.

In addition, the company received the following state incentives including training assistance:

  • Sales tax refunds on building materials, taxable machinery and equipment associated with the project;
  • Income tax credit based on the total payroll of new jobs through the Advantage Arkansas program;
  • $2,275,000 from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund for site preparation and energy efficiency related infrastructure;
  • $100,000 from the state’s General Improvement Funds for infrastructure development at the new site.

The company said its new headquarters will be rail-car accessible and the company will pursue LEED Silver certification. The company aims to recycle 75 percent of construction waste at the facility; install LED lighting and occupant sensors; minimize adhesives, sealants, paints, carpets and other odorous fibers or irritants; and conserve water with low-flow plumbing fixtures, native landscaping with drip irrigation.

“We are thrilled to be able to expand our operations in central Arkansas,” Rusty Mathis, general manager of Ben E. Keith’s Mid-South Division, said in a news release. “This project would not be possible without the collaborative efforts of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, North Little Rock Economic Development Corporation, and the Federal Economic Development Agency. We appreciate the support, and our employees look forward to the day we move into our new, state-of-the art facility.”

Ben E. Keith opened in Arkansas in 1973.

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