Dubuque Packing Company - Current Status

Current Status

The packing plant in Dubuque operated under the FDL Foods Inc. name until September 1995 when the plant again closed, this time due to the loss of the sole contract with Hormel (as reported to workers by management in July 1995). The plant was eventually sold to Farmland Foods, who continued to operate the plant until 2001. Smithfield Foods purchased the plant with the stated intention of refurbishing and reopening the plant. However once Smithfield purchased the plant they decided not to proceed with either remodeling or reopening the plant. This led to the belief that Smithfield only purchased the plant to remove competition from the market.

For the next four years, the former Dubuque Packing Company plant sat empty. From time to time Dubuque police used the plant for training purposes, but otherwise no activity took place there. Many in the community felt that the abandoned plant was an eyesore - especially given its position near the Mississippi River and U.S. Highway 61 & U.S. Highway 151. In 2003, Wal-Mart expressed interest in the site for a second supercenter. But when the city decided against supplying tax incentives, Wal-Mart decided not to proceed with the project.

Then in 2004 local developer Wayne Briggs announced his plans to tear down the plant and redevelop the site as a shopping center. This new shopping center would have national retailers, and would give the northeastern parts of the city more shopping options. Briggs purchased the plant site. The Dubuque County zoning board gave their approval to the plans. On March 21, 2005 the entire city council approved the rezoning of the site.

Demolition of the old packing plant was slow going due to concerns over hazardous waste such as asbestos. The asbestos was gone by May 2006, when a fire began at the former packing plant. The Dubuque Fire Department handled the fire, taking it slowly because of the instability of the partially demolished building. Briggs said at the time that the fire wouldn't affect the demolition schedule, and by October 1, 2006, the buildings were totally demolished. Currently site preparation is being done to prepare the site for construction.