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Week of February 13, 2003 |
| Sysco Food sees 120 new jobs after move to expanded Medley headquarters By Paola IuspaPromising to create 120 jobs in three years, Sysco Food Services of South Florida plans to start construction late this month of its larger plant in Medley. The subsidiary of Houston-based Sysco Corp., one of the nation's largest distributors of food-service products, hopes to complete the 573,000-square-foot warehouse and office site by November, said Abbe Solomon of Codina Construction. Future jobs, stemming from the expansion, will include a wide variety of positions, said Toni Spigelmyer, Sysco's director of investor and media relations, from administration to warehouse and transportation work. First, about 600 employees will be relocated from the existing plant at 555 NE 185th St. in North Miami to 11400 NW 30th St. in Medley, she said. The facility will have 106,000 square feet of sub-zero freezer storage, 121,000 square feet of cold storage, 200,000 square feet of dry storage and 95,000 square feet of office space. The group will invest about $45 million in construction and $7 million in office equipment, said Ms. Spigelmyer. In September, Sysco bought about 48 acres for $13.5 million at the 160-acre Pan American North Business Park, at Florida's Turnpike and Okeechobee Road, said Carlos Lopez-Cantera. He and partner Stephen Blumenthal, who own Pan American Park, sold the land to Sysco. The partners are now selling another 50 acres in the park, Mr. Blumenthal said. In past years, Medley has become a magnet for corporate headquarters, especially food-service companies, Melvin Wolfe, town attorney said Tuesday. He said a major lumber company is now looking to relocate there. Michael Silver, vice president of CB Richard Ellis, said the area is popular for corporations because it is farther from the traffic of Airport West - a hub of industrial and commercial parks - and the land is cheaper. While prices in Medley have doubled in the past three years, it still makes more sense to pay $9 per square foot, compared to $12 to $19 in Airport West, Mr. Silver said. Another company that is building its headquarters about a mile away from Sysco and just outside Medley is Ryder Systems. The 700-employee firm will vacate its Doral area building and invest about $40 million on its new facility at Beacon Station Business Park, in northwestern Miami-Dade County. |
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