Horizon Beverage to fill Norton’s former GM plant

NORTON – Horizon Beverage Group will relocate its Avon, Mass., headquarters and distribution center to a former General Motors warehouse in Norton.
Horizon plans to spend $43 million on a two-phase relocation project, Norton Town Manager Michael Yunits told Providence Business News.
Of that, $18 million went toward the building purchase and $2 million bought additional land around the building, Yunits said.
The liquor distributor will spend $13 million in 2011 and $12 million in 2012 to renovate the existing building and build 100,000-square-foot and 60,000-square-foot expansions, Yunits said.
GM vacated the 404,000-square-foot building in 2010.
Once Horizon completes renovations and construction, the facility will be about twice as big as Horizon’s current space in Avon, which the company has sold.
Horizon’s relocation will bring 381 jobs to Norton, and the business projects it will add another 35 jobs by 2016, Yunits said.
“The company is a family-owned business, and they’ve been involved with the town already,” Yunits said. “It’s the type of business that you really want in your town.”
The city of Norton passed a 13-year tax break package for Horizon in January. The business will receive a 100 percent tax credit on new construction in the first year, and then the credit will reduce by 10 percent each year for nine years. For the final three years of the tax break, Horizon will receive a 1 percent tax credit on new construction, Yunits said. The deal is projected to save Horizon $2.45 million during the next 13 years.
Horizon will still pay full property taxes on the existing building.
In addition, the Mass. Economic Assistance Coordinating Council gave the company a $350,000 investment tax credit in March.
“This was a way to maintain the business within the commonwealth and to expand it to add jobs within the commonwealth,” Yunits said.
Horizon is currently obtaining construction permits, Yunits said. The company plans to begin construction in July.
Horizon’s move is well timed for Norton, which lost food-service distributor Sysco to Plympton, Mass., in May.