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The Fort Worth City Council will consider two tax abatement proposals on Oct. 15.
Americold, one of the largest cold-storage warehouse and distribution providers in the world, is planning a $123 million investment to expand its location at 4900 Blue Mound Road.
The company is committing to creating 85 full-time jobs by December 2025, with an annual average salary of more than $65,000. In addition, 15% of construction costs for the expansion would go toward business equity firms.
In exchange, the city of Fort Worth would enter into a seven-year tax abatement of up to 50% of the incremental value of both the company’s real and business personal property — estimated at $2.5 million.
The agreement would be subject to the company meeting its commitments.
The City Council will also consider an abatement for Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services, which is proposing to develop a maintenance, repair, and overhaul operation for commercial aircraft and related parts at a 16-acre undeveloped site in partnership with Hillwood near Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
Embraer is a subsidiary of Embraer S.A., a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation and the third-largest producer of civil aircraft worldwide, after Boeing and Airbus. It is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, with offices in Washington and Fort Lauderdale, and reported $5.2 billion in revenue in 2023.
Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services is based in Nashville, with another location in Macon, Georgia.
If the abatement is approved, Embraer would commit to a $57 million capital investment and bring 250 jobs by Dec. 31, 2029, with a minimum salary of $67,000, including at least 100 jobs by the end of 2026.
City staff is recommending that the City Council approve the seven-year tax break, valued at up to $1.2 million each year. Staff estimates that the deal would generate $1.2 million in gross new taxes and would repay the incentive in a little more than three years.
Embraer would be subject to meeting its commitments, which include 15% of construction costs going to business equity firms.
Americold has four sites in Fort Worth, including three in the north corridor on Meacham Boulevard, Railhead Road, and Blue Mound Road. A fourth location is on Samuels Avenue in south Fort Worth.
If approved, the Americold project is expected to generate more than $2.5 million in gross new taxes for the city each year, essentially paying back the abatement in slightly fewer than 3 ½ years.
Cold storage warehousing involves storing perishable or other sensitive goods like food, medicine, or specialized products in climate-controlled environments. National trends, such as increased e-commerce and supply chain onshoring, have driven demand for cold storage.
According to the city, Fort Worth is currently underserved in cold storage facilities, which play a critical role in maintaining strong supply chains. Existing facilities in Fort Worth are at nearly 99% occupancy, limiting capacity for new clients, and no cold storage units were under construction in the city as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Americold’s expansion would not only provide additional cold storage capacity for companies on the western side of Dallas-Fort Worth but would also strengthen Fort Worth’s logistics and healthcare industries, city staff said, as medical professionals rely on cold storage to transport medication, equipment, and other temperature-sensitive supplies.