Medline Industries | Hammond

Under Construction In Coburn

A large medical supply company named Medline Industries, created some concerns with local residents and divided parish government offices over in Covington, seeking to build a large distribution center south of the city and has decided on relocating to Hammond!

Both the City of Hammond and Tangipahoa Parish worked vigorously with Medline to re-zone a couple parcels of land next to Hammond Airport in Coburn where plans are being made up to build a $45 million distribution center with ground-break ceremonies early next year and steady work for local contractors and construction workers long into next year.

It was almost a year ago when Governor Edwards and Medline announced plans to expand in St. Tammany Parish, where it had an existing 200,000-square-foot complex. However, nearby residents fought re-zoning to stop the development which was four times the size of Medline's existing complex, and filed lawsuits soon after the announcement.

By late August, St Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper denied Medline a land-clearing permit for 47 acres of the almost 70-acre site between Ochsner Boulevard and Interstate 12, which caused Allstate Financial Co., who owns the land to also filed a lawsuit.

Arguments “for” or “against” the development in St. Tammany was over concerns that the 800,000-square-foot distribution center would only increase St Tammany's flooding issues and traffic congestion. As the year rolled on the proposal became a source of contention between the Parish Council who advocated for the development, and Parish President Mike Cooper, who showed his opposition earlier this year by not issuing those land-cleaning permits.

Last month St Tammany's parish council cleaned the parish president’s clock for several hours after denying the permit, while various proponents pointed out all to the economic benefits of the expansion.

With no compromise the parish loses its current revenue stream with Medline's exit and an estimated 164 new jobs with a payroll of more than $6 million in the first five years; a $53 million capital investment; just under two million dollars in construction payroll taxes; and another cool million in sales taxes on construction materials. Furthermore, St. Tammany parish could also lose $650,000 a year in sale taxes and well over another million in property taxes - St. Tammany Corporate CEO Chris Masingill told the council.

In light of all the events taking place over in Covington a Medline spokesman said: "Over the last several months, Medline has worked closely with Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller along with the parish's economic development and workforce development teams, as well as Hammond's Mayor Pete Panepinto and the city council to create the best possible project for the community".

During discussions Medline did encounter some opposition in Tangipahoa Parish. Bonnie Eades said the first public meeting addressing Hammond's re-zoning drew in a lot of Coburn residents who had concerns about many of the same issues raised in St. Tammany. But she said through discussion and compromises residents put up little continued resistance to the development.

From those early decisions with Hammond residents, Medline plans to create a rainwater detention pond on the Hammond site capable of handling a "500-year flood event"; have 100-foot setbacks from the street; and install a pedestrian path on the west side of Industrial Park Road.

“We’ve actually increased the size of our pond on the south end of the development from a 200-year storm protection level to a 500-year storm protection level, so we’ve more than doubled the size of the storm water detention capabilities since the initial concept was released,” Greenberg said.

Medline plans to keep the area south of Selser Canal undisturbed, where the existing trees and foliage can continue to provide buffer and help increase drainage in the event of a storm.

Drainage on Camille Lane will be helped by installing piping to carry storm water from those homeowners’ properties into the Medline’s facility where it will drain into Medline’s storm water retention pond. "The ability to put that infrastructure in just made sense, and we feel like it’s just the right thing to do as a good neighbor,” Greenberg said.

Along the fence line Medline plans to maximize the landscaping within that 100 feet and look beautiful from the road. It also promised money for a traffic roundabout on U.S. 190 and Hammond drainage improvements.

After the completion of the new complex here in Hammond, it's going to take at up to six months before everything is operational. Inventory now stored in St. Tammany and another location here in Hammond will need to be relocated; and Medline has already sold its original St. Tammany location while leasing-back space from the new owners, as plans are being drawn up and construction is completed.

Once operational, the new distribution center will employ as many as 450 people, and we here in Hammond are looking forward to the new opportunities growth brings.

North shore business leaders are happy that the project remains in the region, too. "We have known for quite some time that Medline would be relocating to an alternative site," Local corporate CEO Chris Masingill said. "We want to thank the Tangipahoa Economic Development Foundation and community leaders for their efforts to keep this important economic development project on the North shore."

Lacey Osborne, the St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce CEO, called the move a big loss for St. Tammany, but the Hammond location still makes it a gain for the region.

Bonnie Eades of the Northshore Business Council said her group had supported the expansion in St. Tammany because of the living wage jobs it would have brought, but happy to see Medline staying in the region, as well. "Anywhere on the north shore, on the I-12 corridor, is an asset to our region," she said. "We knew either place would have benefits for our area."

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