Baekgaard, Ltd., a leading designer and distributor of home furnishings and accessories, recently announced it will expand its operations in Fort Wayne, Ind., creating more than 55 new jobs.

The company, which currently employs 10 people in Fort Wayne, will invest more than $3.6 million to build and equip its new corporate headquarters and distribution center in Silverado (Industrial) Park along Interstate Highway 69 in southwest Allen County.

Baekgaard will begin construction on the new facility in the coming weeks with completion slated for the second quarter of 2008. The company plans to begin hiring warehousing specialists, managers and clerical staff later this year.

The announcement of Baekgaard’s decision to build in Silverado Park follows the designation of the site as "shovel ready" in 2006 during the pilot round of the state’s now fully implemented Shovel Ready Program. Passed in 2005 by the Indiana General Assembly, the program identifies sites that have undergone extensive title work, proof of ownership, legal and environmental review and qualify for expedited permitting with state regulatory agencies.

Silverado Park is one of 30 industrial sites statewide that have earned the shovel ready designation since the program’s inception.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered the Baekgaard up to $445,000 in performance-based tax credits and up to $40,000 in training grants based upon the company’s job creation plans. With the assistance of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance, Allen County officials will consider property tax abatement for the project.

For MORE NEWS BRIEFS, click here.

For a FREE SUBSCRIPTION to Expansion Management magazine, click here.

For MORE NEWS BRIEFS SORTED BY STATE, click here.

For MORE NEWS BRIEFS SORTED BY INDUSTRY or FUNCTION, click here.

For MORE NEWS BRIEFS SORTED BY COUNTRY, click here.