The head of a Chattanooga company that focuses on food safety, sanitation, and water management is seeking rezoning for the former Farley's & Sathers candy facility in Lookout Valley.
Robert Bullard, chief executive of The Vincit Group, wants to place a packaging and redistribution operation at the Cummings Road site that includes an existing 275,000-square-foot structure.
He's seeking to rezone 12 acres to an M-1 manufacturing from M-2 light industrial, according to the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency. The proposal said a plat was submitted in July to subdivide the property.
The agency is recommending approval for the request when the planning commission meets on Monday.
Bullard did not answer emailed questions about what type of products the plant will package and distribute, when it would open or how many people the site would employ.
But the property already holds 168 parking spaces, and the building has an array of loading docks for the distribution operation.
The owner of the property is listed in documents as Nooga Investments LLC of Tyler, Texas. That company bought the site for $2.65 million in April 2015 from Farley's & Sathers. Bryan Neal of Nooga Investments referred questions to Bullard.
The Vincit Group, headquartered at the corner of Fourth Street and Georgia Avenue, has 5,000 associates across its network, according to its website.
The company said it delivers specialized treatment programs for water, food, and beverage facilities, provides plant sanitation services and customized design-build engineering and installation.
In 1968, John and Mildred Zott founded Zee Co., which since has grown into The Vincit Group. The company began with just three employees and seven products, including Hog Scald, which it said "revolutionized product quality in the pork industry," the website said. Today, Zee Co. maintains a collection of more than 1,500 products and The Vincit Group is in its fourth generation, the company said.
The Cummings Road building was built around 1985. Farley's & Sathers announced in 2012 it was closing some of its Chattanooga operations, including the Cummings Road facility, after a merger with Chicago-based Ferrara Pan.
In 2014, Ferrara closed all of its Chattanooga production operations, including its remaining Jersey Pike facility, and laid off its manufacturing staff.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.