LORAIN — A major beverage distributor that bought Goodman Beverage Co. in 2008 now has a $5 million plan to expand into Ford Motor Co.’s  old Lorain Assembly Plant.

The project proposed by Heidelberg Distributing Co. involves job creation and retention tax incentives and would nearly double its employment in the city from 55 employees to 100.

The company said it plans to purchase 16 acres of land and nearly 170,000 square feet of warehouse and office space on the southwest corner of the IRG plant on Baumhart Road.

The tax incentive is “a huge factor” and the deal is not finalized, company spokeswoman Lee Oberlag said.

She said the project would consolidate the operations from the former Goodman distributorship at 1930 W. 19th St. and operations at the former Mid-Ohio Wines of Norwalk, which was purchased by Heidelberg at the same time as Goodman Beverage in October 2008.

The new facility would distribute beer and wine in a 14-county market in north central Ohio.

A project description under review by city officials in Lorain said Goodman would retain an annual payroll of $2 million and the new jobs would pay employees about $1.7 million total.

Lorain was competing with other sites and the competition was whittled down to IRG and another site in Norwalk, and the job creation credit rebate was offered making it the preferred site contingent on the incentive, according to material provided by Lorain Service Director Robert Gilcrest.

City Council will examine legislation on the tax break at Monday’s meeting, said.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to bring jobs to Lorain,” Gilcrest said.

The tax incentive to be rebated is 30 percent of payroll taxes in years 1 to 7; 25 percent in years 8 to 11 and 20 percent in years 12 to 15, he said.

The annual rebate to Heidelberg based on the $3.7 million projected payroll is $22,200, while the city earns $51,800, according to projections.

The rebate is only paid as long as Heidelberg remains in the city and maintains a minimal annual payroll of $3.4 million. If the annual payroll in any year falls below the minimum level, then the company earns no rebate that year, according to projections.

The company also would be relocating about $2.5 million of inventory to Lorain.

Oberlag said business is good because the beverage business is “recession resistant.”

“People — particularly in the wine business — have come to think of wine as a staple to put in their shopping carts,” she said.

Heidelberg’s Web site said it is the 16th largest beer distributor in the United States.

It also has facilities in Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati and Kentucky.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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