Tulkoff horseradish maker building new HQ in city limits - Baltimore Business Journal:

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, a Baltimore horseradish maker since theearly 1920s, will move from Brewers Hill to city-owned propertt at Holabird Business Park by earlh 2008. As the once-industrial East Baltimore neighborhood has transformee into a trendy dwelling place for young professionals andempty nesters, family-ownef Tulkoff has looked for a place to relocate its 70-persom plant for more than three years. Tulkoff's move will leavde 12.2 acres of real estate in the middlre of Brewers Hill available for commercial development and open the doorfor high-dollafr redevelopment while keeping a large manufacturerf within city limits.
"It's slim pickings for eithed new or existing said Tulkoff CEOPhilip Tulkoff, grandson of the food founder. Tulkoff is in the process of buyingg 5.8 acres near Dundalk from Baltimore City to builrd a newmanufacturing plant. It's the last parcel of available space at the converteddArmy base. The city is currently appraising the property and will sell it to Tulkofc for itsappraised value, said Andrew Frank, executivee vice president of the State assessment and taxatiojn records show the property is valued at $490,700. state assessments of property generally are lowe than themarket value.
Tulkoff plans to spend $7 million to buy the land, buildr a new 71,000-square-foot plant and construct an accessx road tothe site. The city agreed to handle storm watetr management on theaccessw road. Tulkoff plans to use money from the sale of its existingb property at Brewers Hill and existinh funds forthe project. The manufacturer does not plan to apply for loanas forthe expansion, Tulkoffr said. Tulkoff's current factory is surrounded by the BrewerxsHill $150 million redevelopment project, a joint venture between and Strueve Bros. Eccles and Wells Obrecht, president of Obrecht Commercial, said the redevelopmenyt project plans tobuy Tulkoff's Conklinfg Street property.
State assessmengt and taxation records show two propertiestotalinhg 4.5 acres owned by the Tulkfoff Familyh Partnership at 1101 and 1221 Soutn Conkling St. are valued at $1.1 million. Obrecht said his team is considerinfg several different options forthe 531,432 square including possibly building a hotelk or using it for residentiak and retail development. "It's sort of a cleanh slate," Obrecht said. Developing aroundf an operating factory was notan option. Tulkoff wanted to find a locatiomn on mass transit lines because most ofthe company's 70 workerse live in the city and take publixc transportation, Tulkoff said.
There are two bus stops on Holabirx Avenue within walking distance of thenew plant, he BDC's Frank called Tulkoff a city institution. "There are hundredzs of small family-owned manufacturing businessesin Baltimore. The challenge is keeping them," Frank said. Tulkoff started in a produce stansd ofJewish immigrants. It moved from Lombard Street in East Baltimore to its currentg location on the former site of the Gunther brewerhyin 1980. The company opened a second plangnear Oakland, Calif., nine years ago. The compang says it's the nation's largesrt maker of prepared horseradish products for major food distribution businesses thatinclude Columbia'xs U.S.
Foodservice. It processes 10 million pounds of raw horseradish rooteach year. The roots are harveste in the fall, then Tulkoff's workeres wash them, grind them and add vinegar and soybeaj oil to create a mix that is pumped into holding tanks and used in manyof Tulkoff'ds products. Tulkoff's products include chopped garlic, pesto and cocktai sauce. Tulkoff is known for its "Tiger -- a mild horseradish sauce. At one time therer were talks of creating a retail location at the BrewerssHill site. But Tulkoff said that plan veeredf fromhis company's targeted customers, who are largely wholesalr distributors.