By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Officials behind a proposed $150 million sugar refinery set to be built in Reserve have decided to leave St. John Parish in favor of a sweeter deal in St. James Parish.

Officials with Cargill Inc., who had partnered with Sugar Growers and Refiners LLC to bring the refinery to St. John Parish, said the national economic downturn forced the group to rethink the endeavor. The project is now a three-way partnership between Cargill, the growers and refiners and Imperial Sugar, who owns the Colonial Sugar refinery in Gramercy. The new refinery will utilize parts of the existing refinery.

“The money we tried to borrow for the St. John project wasn’t there,” said Jeff Cotter, assistant vice president of business development for Cargill. “Moving the project to Gramercy would allow us to utilize existing infrastructure and cut costs. Hopefully the money will be there this time.”

Cotter said the Gramercy location is a bigger site, roughly 250 acres, with access to the Mississippi River and various docks and rails. There are also roads and utilities, such as power and water, already in place. He said these elements would have needed to be added to the 200-acre Reserve site.

The project will also utilize elements of the old refinery to run the new refinery. Cotter said equipment cost savings could run between $10 million and $20 million.

Cotter said Cargill, who owns the land that was slated for the St. John refinery, which is adjacent to a grain elevator constructed 40 years ago, has no immediate plans for the vacant property.

The new refinery, which has been hyped as one of the largest in the nation, is projected to handle about 75 percent of all the raw sugar in Louisiana, as well as 10 percent of the nation’s. All three groups stand to gain a share in the profits. It marks the first time that the state’s cane growers would enjoy a large stake of refining operations in Louisiana.

St. James Parish President Dale Hymel said he is pleased by the decision to move the project since it allows employees at the Colonial refinery to keep their jobs.

“If the project came to fruition in St. John, it would have been in direct competition with the St. James refinery,” said Hymel. “Both locations would be competing for the same amount of sugar cane and the Gramercy site would have had to import from other places.”

Hymel said his administration received preliminary approval from the St. James Council to pursue $100 million in Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds at a meeting March 4. Cotter said reapplication was necessary for the project to move forward.

Hymel said construction, which would take between 12 to 18 months, could begin by the end of this year.

While officials in St. James celebrated the move, officials in St. John Parish were left with a bitter taste in their mouths.

St. John Parish President Bill Hubbard said he was shocked and disappointed when the parish received word of the move.

“I’m not happy with the way it was handled,” Hubbard said. “We all came out for a groundbreaking at the site. Their sign is still up. We feel a bit blindsided.”

Although Hubbard said he is upset that the refinery would no longer be in Reserve, he said he is glad that the project is staying in the community.

“St. James is an area much like St. John,” said Hubbard.

“I’m glad it is staying regionally, and if I had to pick another place for it, I would have gone with St. James,” he said.