The Port St. Lucie City Council on June 14 welcomed Cheney Brothers, Inc. to the city, adding to the project approval the broadline food distributor received from the St. Lucie County Commission on June 1.
The family-owned Florida company has chosen Legacy Park at Tradition in Port St. Lucie as the home for its newest state-of-the-art distribution center, a 427,000-square-foot, $55 million facility. The new Cheney Brothers Port St. Lucie location will bring 380 jobs to the area with wages that exceed St. Lucie County’s average by approximately 35%.
“We are very pleased to welcome Cheney Brothers to Port St. Lucie. They are a homegrown, Florida food distribution company that will provide hundreds of good-paying jobs in our community,” said Port St. Lucie Vice Mayor Shannon Martin. “Legacy Park is the perfect location for Cheney Brothers to call home. They will be a great complement to FedEx, along with other future employers.”
“Tambone Companies is excited to welcome Cheney Brothers to the City of Port St. Lucie. Cheney Brothers is one of many quality companies entering the Port St. Lucie market, bringing job growth opportunities to the region,” said Richard Tambone of the Tambone Companies. “This would not have been possible without the team of professionals who helped along the way, including City of Port St. Lucie Mayor Greg Oravec, City Manager Russ Blackburn, CRA Director Wes McCurry, the team at the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County, and Robert Smith from CBRE who represented Cheney Brothers.”
Tambone Companies was contracted by the City of Port St. Lucie in 2019 to market and expedite the sale and development of 84 acres of land within Tradition Center for Commerce, with the goal of spearheading economic development in the area. Tambone and related companies have developed millions of square feet of office, research, industrial, medical, and retail, facilities for some of the world’s most recognized companies.
Headquartered in West Palm Beach, Cheney Brothers was founded in 1925 and is now in the fourth generation of family operation. The company’s sales currently exceed $2.5 billion across the southeast United States.
The new distribution center will be constructed on 52 acres fronting Interstate 95, located north of the FedEx facility currently under construction. When completed, the facility will service the restaurants, clubs and hotels in the region, and provide a safety net for supplies, if needed, when hurricanes strike, said Cheney Brothers CEO Byron Russell.
The location incentive package includes expedited site plan review and permitting, abatement of city and county property taxes on the new facility for five years at 100%, with tax reductions ramping down for an additional five years; and city impact fee mitigation. St. Lucie County is also offering a five-year Job Growth Investment Grant at $2,325 per new employee.
About the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County
The EDC is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting economic vitality in St. Lucie County through the attraction, retention and expansion of businesses in the community. The EDC works in partnership with local governments and the private sector to advance its goals of creating more and better-paying jobs for residents, broadening the tax base and improving St. Lucie County’s economic quality of life. Contact the EDC at 772.336.6250 or www.youredc.com.
About Cheney Brothers, Inc.
Founded in West Palm Beach in 1925, Cheney Brothers is a Florida-based, family-owned and operated food service company. With annual sales exceeding $2.5 billion, Cheney Brothers is one of the fastest growing broadline food distributors in the U.S. The company operates 16 various facilities across Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, and also distributes internationally to more than 100 countries. For more information and available positions, visit www.cheneybrothers.com.
