Imagine 1.5 million square feet of fine wine and spirits. That's the
size of a vineyard. A downtown redevelopment project. Roughly a third of
Disney's Magic Kingdom. That's what's coming to Tampa. Well, about half
of it is already here. Oh, and this huge industrial spirits-filled
space is LEED certified -- the biggest industrial space to receive
silver LEED status in Florida.
Premier
Beverage had outgrown its Tampa digs at 6031 Madison Ave. near
Brandon. So they hired
R.R. Simmons to design
and build a new facility that would allow for the wine and spirit
distributor's growth and honor its commitment to sustainable practices.
The result is a state-of-the-art facility that
features new office space, a central chiller system, a highly reflective
roof that minimizes heat absorption under the hot Florida sun and a
smart lighting system that uses motion sensors to minimize energy
consumption throughout the facility, among other things.
The distribution location houses nearly 800,000 cases of
inventory, which is distributed to restaurants as well as liquor,
grocery and convenience stores on a daily basis. Two miles of
software-run conveyor belts ferry inventory throughout the main building
and ultimately load it onto trucks for delivery.
According to Premier's Harry Masi, the distribution center's
growth has increased headcount in both sales and operations to handle
volume. And the construction itself increased jobs for area workers as
well.
Randy Simmons of R.R. Simmons found the
efforts of the people who worked on the project rewarding. "Several
hundred people at a time worked on this project and it created many
jobs. Premier's trust in our team and satisfaction with the building is
most rewarding."
The first phase created new
office and distribution space under one roof. The next two phases will
expand warehouse space on the property.
Writer:
Missy
Kavanaugh
Sources: Randy Simmons, R.R. Simmons; Harry
Masi, Premier Beverage
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