A plan that could see United Parcel Service Inc. adding 346 jobs to Fort Worth received a vote of approval from the Fort Worth City Council today.
The expansion project for UPS’s distribution center at 13700 Independence Pkwy received a nomination from the Fort Worth City Council to qualify for the Texas Enterprise Zone Program, a state program that offers tax refunds for development projects in areas that are struggling economically.
The city will send an official resolution nominating UPS, along with UPS’s Texas Enterprise Project Application, to the state government. The state will then review the application and decide whether or not UPS qualifies for the program.
UPS could qualify for the program due to its $45 million expansion project, which includes plans to create and retain 346 jobs. If approved, UPS could a receive maximum of $2,500 per job each year for up to five years.
The 495,000 square-foot facility, nicknamed “Independence,” opened in 2014. According to UPS public relations manager Dan Cardillo, the facility had extra space for eventual expansion.
Expansion will take place within the building, as UPS adds additional sorting equipment as well as more doors for loading and unloading tractor-trailer trucks. With the expansion, UPS looks to double the facility’s package sorting capacity from 20,000 packages per hour to 40,000 packages per hour.
The new equipment should be ready for use by the end of 2015, according to Cardillo.
Another business in Fort Worth has expressed interest in being nominated to the Texas Enterprise Zone Program. On Tuesday, American Airlines requested for City Council to nominate the airline’s existing facilities to the program. If approved, American Airlines can receive up to $3.75 million in tax refunds.