FedEx to Build Distribution Center at Old Louisiana Racetrack Site
Part of the old Evangeline Downs Racetrack site in Carencro, Louisiana will be the home of a 236,000-square-foot FedEx Ground distribution center, the developer of the project confirmed April 11.
The distribution center is scheduled to be completed by next spring, and FedEx Corp. is expected be operating there by the summer, said James Saad, with Alabama-based Saad Development.
The company, which closed on the purchase of the 40-acre site the week of April 4, will build the facility and then lease it to FedEx, Saad said.
FedEx ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
The deal has been in the works for about a year, Saad said.
The development company has been involved in similar FedEx projects across the United States.
The track closed in 2004, when Evangeline Downs moved to a new facility in Opelousas to take advantage of legalized slot-machine gambling in St. Landry Parish.
Saad Development bought the site for $11 million from Henderson Auctions, which had purchased a portion of the Evangeline Downs property several years ago and has conducted auctions there of machinery, travel trailers and mobile homes, among other items.
The development company will spend $18 million to design and build the distribution center, Saad said.
He did not know how many employees FedEx might hire, but he said the parking lot is designed for more than 400 vehicles.
A FedEx spokesman could not be reached for comment April 11.
Carencro Mayor Glenn Brasseaux said the distribution center could be a boon for local businesses.
“It’s going to bring a couple of hundred workers into Carencro each day,” he said.
