Cheney buys 35 Charlotte acres

PORT CHARLOTTE -- Cheney Brothers Inc. is set to purchase 35 acres of land in the Enterprise Charlotte Airport Park for $2.5 million, according to a release from Charlotte County Economic Development.

Cheney Brothers is a food distributor founded in West Palm Beach in 1925. The company now does $900 million in annual business, and currently operates three facilities: its 325,000-square-foot headquarters in Riviera Beach, a 480,000-square-foot distribution center in Ocala, and Bari Beef International's 66,000-square-foot facility in Orlando.

The company is buying land in Port Charlotte to allow for the construction of a fourth facility, a 250,000-square-foot distribution center. Cheney Brothers expects to spend at least $25 million to build the new facility. Charlotte County estimates the expansion will add “hundreds” of jobs to the local economy, with an average wage and benefit package of $45,000.