Retired NBA player behind plan for $600M 'beverage park' in Montgomery
Kentucky-based Manna Capital Partners, led by former NBA player Ulysses L. "Junior" Bridgeman, plans to build a $600 million beverage production and distribution complex in a new 180-acre "beverage park" in Montgomery.
The complex will include a 1.7-million-square-foot production facility capable of producing alcoholic and non-alcoholic products, with the first bottle expected to come off the line in 2025. It'll be at the Hope Hull exit off Interstate 65, not far from the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama campus.
It's expected to bring 280 full-time jobs.
Bridgeman said those jobs will range from warehouse to technical jobs and will start at about $60,000 to $70,000 a year. He said doesn't expect to have any trouble attracting employees despite a historically low unemployment rate. Alabama's unemployment rate was 2.6% in August.
"Normally people will go to work for a company where they feel the culture is something they want to be a part of. That's what we hope to produce here," Bridgeman said.
Facility will include research and development center
Manna Capital Partners will operate the plant through a subsidiary, Manna Beverages & Ventures, which it created to be a supply chain partner for national and regional brands, with a focus on startups. The contract packing company handles outsourced production, packaging and warehousing.
The Montgomery facility will also include a research and development center with a bottling line that will provide entrepreneurs, with a focus on women-owned and minority businesses, a place to test new products.
"The whole idea is not just to build a facility that does co-packing, but to try and get people to realize how they might be able to start a business providing something for us," Bridgeman said. "We'll be buying millions of dollars of stuff, everything from product supplies to glass, and who knows what. So there'll be many opportunities."
Bridgeman retired from the NBA in the 1980s having never made more than $350,000 in a season, but eventually built an empire through ownership and operation of more than 100 fast food locations and other restaurants. In 2015, Forbes listed him as the nation's fourth-wealthiest retired athlete. He's also the owner of Ebony and Jet.
"If you have an idea, a lot of times you don't know where you can go to tweak that and maybe get that idea made into a product, and get it out on the market," he said. "... We've got a lot of tentacles that go a lot of different directions, so even if it's not something we directly need, we probably can direct you in a way that can help you grow your business. Being here is more than co-packing and producing. If that's all we did, I think we failed in our mission."
Area officials said throughout the two-year recruitment process, Bridgeman and other company leaders kept asking questions. But not the ones they expected.
"They’ve already asked about opportunities to partner with our schools, our two-year colleges, incubators… how they can make a difference beyond just the financial report that they have to share with their shareholders," Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said.
"They wanted to know what they can do for Montgomery, and they meant it. It wasn't just lip service," Montgomery County Commission Chairman Doug Singleton said.
Incentives included 10 years of tax abatements, though the company will still have to pay taxes that fund schools. The city and county also agreed to help with ground transportation and infrastructure improvements on the site, said Ellen McNair, chief economic development officer for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce.
Bridgeman said the company selected Montgomery because of the state's experience in developing supply chain networks and the interstate site's accessibility. But he said at Tuesday's announcement that a different concern was the tipping point.
"It's not in the script, but we looked at different cities. People tried to lure us to various cities," he said. "What made Montgomery the pick was the people we met. They were genuine about their love for the city (and) about what they wanted to do to help us. We did not see that in other places around the country."
Gov. Kay Ivey stood alongside city, state and chamber officials to announce the investment Tuesday in downtown Montgomery. "I don't know about y'all, but I'd say announcements like this is a solid sign that in the state of Alabama we're doing things right," she said.
The city had previously announced 20 planned projects with a total investment of just over $705 million. Tuesday's announcement nearly doubled that total.
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MB&V said it is working closely with a sustainability consultant to incorporate as many of those features as possible into the facility’s design, including reducing its carbon footprint, minimizing landfill use and impact, and using renewable energy when possible.
Brad Harper covers business and local government for the Montgomery Advertiser. Contact him at bharper1@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery to build 600 million dollar beverage complex
