Mississippi Advances with Automated Alcohol Beverage Warehouse

The State of Mississippi is moving forward with the construction of a new automated Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) warehouse utilizing $95 million in state bonds.

On Tuesday, the Mississippi Department of Revenue (DOR) announced that the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) is now accepting Requests for Proposals (RFP) for the design and construction of the new ABC distribution center.

The deadline for proposals to be submitted is Thursday, July 11, 2024, at 2:00 p.m.

In the 2022 legislative session, Senate Bill 2844 authorized $55 million for the DOR to work through the DFA to construct and equip a new distribution center within 50 miles of the state Capitol.

This year, House Bill 1354 authorized an additional $40 million.

The current distribution center was established in 1983 and is located in Gluckstadt. To store the amount of inventory needed, increase efficiency and improve distribution, officials say a modern, larger warehouse is needed to accommodate demand.

As previously reported by Magnolia Tribune, Mississippi is one of 17 states that exerts direct control over the sale and distribution of alcohol, a remnant of Prohibition-era policy. Whether or not that control should continue has been hotly debated in recent years.

The state maintains a monopoly on the importation and distribution of any distilled spirit or a wine product that contains more than 5% alcohol by weight. Every bottle legally sold is routed through the state-owned warehouse. Licensed package retailers must purchase the liquor and wine they sell directly from the state.

ABC reports that it currently distributes over 3.5 million cases of spirits and wines annually from its 211,000 square foot warehouse, serving over 650 off-premise accounts and 1,800 on-premise accounts while offering over 3,800 stocked items and 14,400 special order items in various sizes.

To help pay for the new facility, lawmakers imposed a bailment fee – a fee for the storage of product – two years ago which was increased this year as the amount of bonds for the project also increased. This fee is in addition to the other state-imposed taxes and fees being collected from the sale of liquor and wine.

The RFP for the new ABC warehouse states that the $95 million total is to include any/all planning and construction costs, commissioning, topographical surveys, geotechnical surveys, land acquisition costs, furnishing, equipping, information technology and contingency.

It reiterates the requirement that the new facility be built within 50 miles of the State Capitol Building with the aim of the design being to fill demand for the next 25 years.

The effective date of the contract for the construction is anticipated to be no later than August 15, with a desired groundbreaking on the first phase of construction on or before February 15, 2025, and a desired substantial completion of construction on or before August 15, 2026.

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