Officials Break Ground on $4M Expansion at St. Bernard Port

Groundbreaking participants include (from left) Ted Roche of the St. Bernard Port; Zeljko Franks of Associated Terminals; Sean Warner of Gulf Coast Bank & Trust; Councilwoman Wanda Alcon; Rep. Ray Garofalo; Patrick Meyers Sr. and Patrick Meyers Jr. of Meyers Warehouse Inc.; Paul Wangler of American Sugar Refining Inc.; Drew Heaphy and Harold Anderson of the St. Bernard Port

CHALMETTE – St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation is trumpeting the groundbreaking of a new warehouse space at the St. Bernard Port, Harbor & Terminal District’s Chalmette Terminal that will be leased by American Sugar Refining, Inc., a member of ASR Group and operator of the Domino Sugar Chalmette Refinery.

The new $4 million facility, located at 521 Bonita Drive, will serve as storage space for the company’s refined and finished sugar products from the refinery located in Arabi. Construction of the 80,000 square foot warehouse will begin in April, with plans to be fully operational by the end of 2022. ASR has already looked to further expand their operation, with the potential for an additional warehouse across the street in the coming years.

“It’s great to see a business that’s been in St. Bernard for over a hundred years expand operations and consolidate logistics at our facilities,” said Drew Heaphy, executive director of the St. Bernard Port.

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The Port, which houses many of the parish’s major corporations, is eager to grow alongside one of St. Bernard’s oldest and largest employers.

“The St. Bernard Parish community has been incredibly supportive of our operation since we first opened in 1909,” said Paul Wangler, ASR’s Senior Distribution Manager. “Our team is ecstatic to expand Domino Sugar’s presence in the parish in this new warehouse that will broaden operational capacity.”

SBEDF said the project will indirectly add 10 permanent jobs in St. Bernard, with up to 150 expected in the second phase of development of the Port’s facilities. ASR’s Domino Sugar Chalmette Refinery, built in 1909, is the largest sugar refinery in the country and employs more than 400 people.

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“This expansion project is a massive triumph for our Parish as we recover from COVID-19 and look to the future development of St. Bernard,” said Meaghan McCormack, executive director of the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation. “We are hopeful for a flurry of logistics and warehouse developments in the coming years that will add quality jobs to the community.”