Even as the new one million square-foot Rooms To Go distribution and retail facility takes shape alone Interstate 10, a number of Brookshire residents are hoping the Florida-based company will bring much-needed jobs to the area.
Over the past two weeks, exterior walls of the massive center have been erected and work is progressing toward a planned completion later this year.
TAKING SHAPE – Work continues on the new one million square foot Rooms To Go distribution and retail center on Interstate 10 between Katy and Brookshire. A number of Brookshire residents are saying they hope the massive facility will mean better jobs for the area.
In addition to the work under way, the company already has plans to add another 500,000 square feet to meet growing customer demand.
In January, Peter Weitzner, a vice president for Rooms To Go, told Katy EDC members the company has expansion plans in place to ultimately increase the Katy facility’s size to 1.5 million square feet.
Brookshire resident Ronnie Carter said he hopes Rooms To Go will hire from the local area, where good jobs are hard to find.
“You’ve got a lot of people here in Brookshire that need jobs, good jobs. You really don’t have a lot good jobs around here; all you’ve got are jobs flipping burgers and mowing lawns,” Carter said. “We just want to make a good living for our families and not all of us can drive all the way to Houston to find work.”
Javier Cerda agreed. He said all the good jobs around Brookshire are already taken.
“There’s places like Igloo and PACO, but the good jobs there have all been taken. The people who have those jobs keep them. Even if a job comes up, it’s taken before anybody knows about it, Cerda said. “We need more good jobs. I hope Rooms To Go will bring some good jobs for us.”
Sammy Miller said he plans to apply as soon as Rooms To Go starts hiring.
“I got laid off almost a year ago and I’ve been looking for work since. All I can find right now is temporary,” he said. “I need something permanent and I hope I can get something with some health insurance for my family.”
Company officials said the new Rooms To Go facility will employee about 300 people, most of whom will come from the local workforce. In addition, the company plans to hire a yet-undetermined number of contract drivers.
According to the U.S. Census, Brookshire struggles with a low per-capita income and high poverty rates. Census figures show the per-capital income is $12,234 and almost 19 percent of the population is at or below the poverty line.
The company already has 158 stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Rooms To Go also has six other distribution centers, located in Lakeland, Fla.; Seffner, Fla.; Suwanee, Ga.; Charlotte, NC; Mobile, Ala. and Arlington, Tex.
In Texas, Rooms To Go has six stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with one more planned, two stores in Austin and one in San Antonio with one more coming.
There are currently four Rooms To Go stores in the Houston area. They are located in the Baybrook area, The Woodlands, Stafford and Willowbrook.
When complete, the Katy facility will have both a distribution center and a retail location. The retail portion of the store, Weitzner pointed out, will be unique in that it will include all three of the Rooms To Go brands – Rooms To Go, Rooms To Go Kids and Rooms To Go Outlet.
The new Rooms To Go facility is being built on 118 acres just southwest of IH-10 and Igloo Road in Waller County between Katy and Brookshire.
By: John Pape on Fri, Jun 5, 2009
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