Chaffee officials say they've been told little about Carr Textile move to Sikeston

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Chaffee's city administrator said the city has been left in the dark regarding Carr Textile's plans for leaving town, other than being told they'd be given the appropriate notice when the factory leaves town.

The administrator, Lee Horton, said Don Carr, owner of Carr Textile, said in a meeting Friday he would give proper notice when vacating the city-owned building, but no details of the move were given. The contract with the city states a 30-day notice must be given when vacating the building.

The city first heard of the company's move from an article in the Standard Democrat printed Wednesday, Horton said.

When approached by a Southeast Missourian reporter, Carr referred all questions to printed reports in the Standard Democrat.

Carr Textile has announced plans to move its operations to its newly acquired building, a former shoe factory in Sikeston, Mo., last week. The new building will allow future expansion for the company with more than 400,000 square feet and 13 acres.

"This is definitely not good news for Chaffee. We are a victim of Mr. Carr's success," Horton said. "This is going to leave us with another empty downtown building."

Carr Textile acquired the former Thorngate building in 2008 to expand its business. The building has held factory operations for the company, which also has one other property in Chaffee used for storage. The company, a converter, importer, distributor and wholesaler of fabrics, employed 10 to 25 people there at various times.

According to Horton, the city government and Carr Textile owner Don Carr had been trying to find a piece of property in Chaffee big enough to suit the company's needs.

Horton said he received a call from Carr on Sept. 9 to cancel a scheduled appraisal, "so I knew something was up."

The city owns the building leased by Carr Textile, which contains 100,000 square feet of warehouse space.

Horton said the city had not received word from the company saying it would leave Chaffee late last week, and officials are wondering what Carr will do with his other property in Chaffee.

An employee who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution said Carr plans to sell the other property owned by the company that is also on North Main Street. The employee also confirmed that the entire operation would be moving to Sikeston.

"We will be actively looking for a new business to lease the city-owned building and provide jobs for our residents," Horton said.

Carr Textile has bought the Brown Shoe building in Sikeston, which is 430,000 square feet. According to Ed Dust, director of the Sikeston Department of Economic Development, in an interview with the Standard Democrat, Carr Textile will employ a minimum of 25 workers at the new facility, but the building will provide "long-term growth potential" for the company and the ability to lease space to other companies.

skluesner@semissourian.com

388-3648

Pertinent address:

234 N. Main St., Chaffee, Mo.