Middle River is getting a new chocolate factory, somewhat at Baltimore City’s expense. Construction teams broke ground today on a new factory for Ruxton Chocolates, the maker of Mary Sue Easter eggs, out in Middle River thanks to some helpful funding from Baltimore County.
As part of the move to the planned 100,000-square-foot facility, Ruxton Chocolates will be closing three of its locations, two of them in the city and one up in Pennsylvania. The two facilities in Baltimore are in Woodberry and near Saint Agnes Hospital, according to the Sun. The new factory will be located at Baltimore Crossroads @95.
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz was there out on Route 43 for the groundbreaking ceremony today. “Ruxton Chocolates is the latest in almost $1 billion in recent private investment in the White Marsh-Middle River area,” he said in part in a statement.
The county worked with 1412 Tangier, LLC, to secure funding for the construction of the new facility. That company will in turn lease the property to Ruxton Chocolates. Under the industrial revenue bond’s terms, the county isn’t on the hook for any money not repaid by 1412 Tangier.
“Baltimore County has worked with us every step of the way as we put the pieces in place for this new building,” said Ruxton Chocolates president Bill Buppert in a statement. “We are very excited about growth opportunities as we expand our nationwide private label business.”
The facility, scheduled to open next summer, will initially create 43 new jobs, though that number will likely rise. It’s unclear whether those workers will be the same once who now work at the closing factories in the city and in Pennsylvania.
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