ABC facility moving to Canton site

CANTON — A new 400,000-square-foot warehouse for Mississippi’s liquor distribution operations is coming here, officials announced this week. 

Joey Deason, executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Authority, said he has been working with the Department of Revenue for about four years on the project, with the Legislature approving the additional funding needed this past session. 

The current warehouse in Gluckstadt is about 225,000 feet in size and cannot be modernized due to space constraints, so state officials have been pushing for funding to build a new warehouse for years. 

State Rep. Trey Lamar said during the past legislative session that the roof was too short and the square-footage of the current warehouse was too small to modernize the warehouse with automated equipment and it would require literally tearing the roof and walls down to expand.

The state has now issued a total of $95 million in bonds to pay for the warehouse, with some of the cost offset coming from an increase in the bailment fee that manufacturers pay to store alcohol. The cost was $1 per case and was increased to $1.50 per case this year. 

The new liquor distribution center will be located on 32.69 acres due west of the Canton Walmart on the corner of Watford and Soldiers Colony Road. 

Deason said MCEDA sold the land to the state for about $980,000. He noted the Legislature required the warehouse to be located 50 miles from the capital. 

“That land was inventory when I came on board seven years ago,” Deason said. “I don’t know when MCEDA purchased it, but it was probably 20 years ago when Nissan first came to the county.:

Deason said MCEDA had already done a lot of the due diligence for the site, including soil borings, surveying and environmental testing. 

Deason said MCEDA will use the money to purchase more land or improve infrastructure, saying he doesn’t want it sitting in a bank. 

“We don’t need money sitting around in an account,” he said. “We need to be putting it to use, whether it’s for a long-range vision or short-term vision.”

Officials with DOR did not respond to a request for comment by press time. 

A construction contract must be in place by Oct. 1, according to the legislation passed this year.