A former Tyson Foods plant in West Jacksonville, Florida, that closed more than 20 years ago will soon be demolished and the property that’s been a blight on the community will be redeveloped to attract new businesses.
The Jacksonville Daily Record reported that the city council approved a $1 million incentive deal for developer Forte Capital Management to demolish the dilapidated building. Forte is partnering with New York-based 7G Realty in the project.
According to the Record, Tyson sold the property to Shep’s Discount & Salvage Inc. in 2003. Shep’s still owns the property, which not only includes the dilapidated plant building, but also 200 to 300 abandoned cars and tractor-trailers.
The developers believe the property is appealing to businesses because of its proximity to Interstate Highway 10, as well as a cold storage facility.
While this former Tyson Foods property is poised for demolition, another nearby processing facility operated by Tyson Foods had been scheduled for closure. In November 2023, the company announced that it was closing two case-ready value-added meat plants. One of those is in Jacksonville, Florida, while the other is in Columbia, South Carolina.
At the time, Tyson said it made the decision to close those two facilities because of a “focus on optimizing our operational footprint.”
Tyson Foods, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Poultry Companies Database, is the largest broiler producer and the sixth largest turkey producer in the United States. It is also heavily involved in beef and pork production.
