Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) regional distribution center at Cecil Commerce Center was named the Industrial Project of the Year at the annual National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP)'s awards dinner.

The BATO regional distribution center, the company's largest center in the country, is a one-million-square-foot, $44 million state-of-the-art facility on 63.3 acres at Cecil Commerce Center. Designed by architectural firms Randall Paulson and Gresham Smith and Partners and constructed by the Conlan Company, this distribution center has a significant impact at Cecil and has indirectly created more than 200 jobs at JAXPORT.

'The BATO distribution center is the first private development project at Cecil Commerce Center and I am pleased that it has been recognized as industrial project of the year,' said Mayor John Peyton. 'Having their distribution center at Cecil, BATO will be able to utilize some of the key logistical assets of the city, mainly JAXPORT and the convenient interstate access, to the mutual benefit of their business and our local economy.'

With capacity for more than a million tires ranging from small passenger and industrial to commercial truck tires, this center supplies tires and automotive parts to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. In addition, the distribution center will ultimately supply the entire United States with imports from Latin America and the Eastern half of the United States with tires from Japan and other Asian countries.

'We are happy to be in Jacksonville — the people of this community have been great to work with,' said Steve Shelton, vice president of Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. 'The City of Jacksonville, the City Council, Cornerstone and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission helped us every step of the way. They've proven to us that Jacksonville is a great place to live and do business. We are very fortunate to have such great partners in this endeavor.'