“The St. Bernard Port, Harbor & Terminal District recently entered into a long-term lease agreement with one of the parish’s largest companies,” said Port Executive Director Drew Heaphy.
American Sugar Refining, Inc. (ASR), a member of ASR Group and owner of the Domino® Sugar Chalmette Refinery, signed a 10-year lease for an 80,000 square-foot warehouse facility at the Port’s Chalmette Terminal.
“Despite the company’s refinery being located less than a mile from the terminal, this agreement is the first of its kind we have made with ASR,” Heaphy said.
ASR will use the warehouse facility, located at 521 Bonita Drive, as storage space for its finished sugar products.
“The St. Bernard Parish community has been incredibly supportive of our operation since we first opened in 1909,” said Paul Wangler, ASR’s Senior Distribution Manager. “Our team is ecstatic to expand Domino® Sugar’s presence in the parish in this new warehouse that will broaden operational capacity.”
Contractors broke ground on the warehouse March 4, and will be laying steel within the next 30 days. The two-part, $4 million project is slated to be complete and operational by 2022.
Meaghan R. McCormack, St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation Executive Director, is excited about the new opportunities brought about by this agreement between the Port and ASR.
“This new partnership will create a positive impact for the community and afford the Port another opportunity to continue being the economic engine that it is,” McCormack said.
St. Bernard Port, along with in tenants and users of its facilities, produce an estimated $325 million in direct and indirect spending annually for the local economy, and create more than 2,000 full-time jobs, often for locals, Heaphy said.
The Port handles millions of tons of bulk, break-bulk and general cargo transfers, to and from thousands of barges and hundreds of cargo ships from around the world.
ASR’s Domino® Sugar Chalmette Refinery, built in 1909, is the largest sugar refinery in the country and employs more than 400 people.
“It’s great to see a business that’s been in St. Bernard for over a hundred years expand operations and consolidate logistics at our facilities,” Heaphy said.
