Partlow Updates City Council On BIDC Projects

David Partlow, Director of BIDCorp gave a “State of BIDCorp” of sorts in his report to the Brownfield City Council last week.

He began by giving an update on the Halliburton progress. This project was started in November of 2012. Eighty jobs have been created and there is approximately 12 million dollars in rolling stock (trucks). They will be bringing in another fracking unit which will bring in even more jobs and an additional $12 million in rolling stock. Partlow states, “We should begin to see buildings in place by the second quarter of 2016.”

Agriculture was not left out in BIDCorp efforts this year. Terry County Tractor received an incentive package worth up to $30,000 over three years. Terry County Tractor is one of Terry County’s oldest business institutions and will soon complete a 1.2 million dollar expansion which will include 7,500 square feet of showroom and office space, as well as 9,000 square feet of parts storage and a 9,000 square foot shop.

The recently purchased Brownfield Industrial Park #2 officially has its first tenant in Sanders, a seed and fertilizer distributor with more than 100 locations in ten states. A two million gallon liquid storage tank has recently been completed, and two smaller tanks with a quarter-million gallon capacity are almost completed adjacent to the larger container. After Sanders completes construction on those tanks, they will build a dry fertilizer storage barn, a warehouse, and an office.

In their first year, Sanders plans to employ eight or nine full time employees, with an additional 10-12 contracted truckers. Sanders purchased 22 of the park’s 55 acres.
At the same time as Sanders was purchasing its portion of the industrial park, Cooper Natural Resources bought 10 acres adjacent to the Sanders property. A railroad spur was added to the industrial park at a cost of $360,000. It is the main spur line off the main line that will serve other companies that move into the park.

BIDCorp also approved an incentive package to assist local ag company Crop Production Services with an expansion project. The fertilizer and seed company has upgraded with almost a million dollars of improvements over the last year and a half, with more plans for expansion at its Brownfield location.

BIDCorp approved an incentive package worth up to $30,000 for CPS, aimed at reimbursing the company for any increased taxes it will owe to local entities. CPS has grown from eight employees to 22 employees since 2011. New facilities include a new 3,000 square foot office building and 1,600 square foot workshop. CPS upgraded its railroad access line to handle more railcars, which deliver as much as 90% of the business’ liquid fertilizer each year.

A new project currently on the drawing board could make Brownfield a destination for wine loving tourists. The High Plains Winery Estates, master planned community of wineries and vineyards, could soon draw wine enthusiasts and their dollars associated with the industry to the city for day trips, weekend getaways, large events and even weddings and receptions.

The idea, currently only in the conceptual phase, would transform the remaining 100-plus acres of the Brownfield Industrial Park on the city’s southwest side. Estimated value of build out is: land – $700,000, four wine tasting rooms – $500,000, two bed and breakfast facilities – $200,000, one event center and chapel – $1.2 million, infrastructure improvements (roads, landscaping parking lots, etc.) – $600,000.

Texas Custom Wine Works, a wine processing company, is now operating in its new 16,500 square foot facility in Brownfield’s Industrial Park and has created 12 new jobs.

The city has formed a Tax Increment Financial Zone to fund four phases of a downtown infrastructure improvement project. Phase I will total $750,000 that will make improvements around the downtown square.

This work includes taking a vacant lot and turning it into a Heritage Park; thus removing a major blighted area in the main part of downtown. The rest is major street scaping that will improve pedestrian safety at each of the corners and increase mobility along eastbound traffic in the downtown area.