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The advantages of locating a commercial building on Native American land

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When looking for new sites, food processing facilities typically want to be in operation in 6-12 months. To reduce the time involved, companies often limit their search to sites with existing buildings that can be retrofitted, but may be less than ideal in the long-term.

Concentrating a site search only on conventional locations may lead companies to overlook the truly unique advantages offered by Native American reservations. Many federally-recognized tribes can offer unparalleled tax advantages, incentives, and project fast-tracking abilities that most states, counties and municipalities simply cannot. Any hesitancy may come from a lack of understanding of how reservations work. Still, not all tribes operate the same way or offer the same infrastructure.

If considering a Native American location for a supply-oriented food processing facility, one consideration is the availability of the commodities used in the manufacturing process. Locating near the type of crop or supply chain production used in manufacturing can significantly lower your procurement costs. In addition, in areas where there are other agricultural endeavors, there is often ready workforce availability and training resources already in place.

If your food processing business is demand-oriented, a location near consumers helps to mitigate the costs of transportation and distribution. In this case, you will want to look for reservations that are not too isolated and that have ready access to transportation corridors.

Ever-changing food industry trends can be a more determinant factor than even access to raw materials or consumers. This can mean securing a flexible site that can quickly adapt to changes in design to accommodate new regulation; new food safety issues; implementing automation; and achieving greater energy efficiency. Most Native American communities will not have an existing building to occupy. However, if the reservation has an in-house development and approval process to speed projects to market, even a build-to-suit facility can be completed in a short timeframe.

According to Billy Hickman, Vice President of Operations of Hickman’s Family Farms and a Santa Cruz Commerce Center tenant since 2003, this is what attracted their enterprise to the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s industrial park. “Their ability to craft a customized lease allowed us to amortize construction costs over the length of a long-term lease and have a facility built to our specifications in just 10 months,” said Hickman. “We’ve been able to expand two more times since our initial construction, too.”

Finding a tribe with the same industry or cultural focus can also lead to some creative synergy. “When we needed to find a solution for dealing with our chicken waste, we were able to create a reciprocal agreement with the tribe, ” said Hickman. “Now we provide it to Ak-Chin Farms as fertilizer for growing the crops we need to feed our flocks.”

Other areas of concern for food processors are water availability and utility costs. While Arizona tribes just like all cities and counties must be prudent in their water usage, some tribes have settled their water rights, which has guaranteed their allocation, while some have yet to do so. In addition, if a tribe owns its own utilities, costs can be significantly lower than off-reservation locations.

Given the location characteristics that are important for food manufacturing firms and what Native American reservations can offer, there is good reason not to limit your search to conventional choices. In any case, how fast you could potentially grow by expanding your location options is certainly food for thought.

Tips for opening a business on Arizona’s Native American reservations

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In Arizona, there are 22 federally recognized Native American tribes, communities, or nations, which encompass thousands of acres of land and ample opportunity for many private businesses to develop or locate on a reservation. Yet, many commercial developers, realtors and site selectors are unfamiliar with the process and potential benefits. Here are the basics:

Can I Buy Land on a Reservation for My Project?

Native lands cannot be bought and sold. They are owned by the federal government and held in trust for the different Native American tribes. Therefore, non-Native businesses that are looking to locate on a reservation must enter into a land lease or build-to-suit lease arrangement with the tribe.

Until recently, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on behalf of the Secretary of Interior, had to approve all leases on reservations, but with the passing of the HEARTH Act in 2012, tribes were given the ability to control their own leases once a tribe applied and was approved.

Is Development Similar on All Reservations?

Each Native American tribe operates like its own country. Each has its own tribal government structure, sets its own tax policies, and has its own development process. On some reservations, for example, tribal members can possess individual parcels or allotted lands. What this means for business owners and developers is that if their project impacts any allotted lands, they have to get the individual owners to sign-off before a development project can proceed. The location itself may make it worth the wait, but it can add time and cost.

For instance, in the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC), much of the Community’s property fronting the Loop 101 is allotted land. It is not unusual to have 150 (and often more) individual owners that have to agree to the lease terms. Consequently, a typical timeframe to secure a lease at SRPMIC will take about 18-24 months. On other reservations like the Ak-Chin Indian Community, there are no allotted lands. All reservation property belongs to the Tribe as a whole and its use is governed by the Tribal Council, which means a developer can start and complete projects much faster. When Ak-Chin committed to building its $50 million multi-tainment center, for example, it was designed and built in 14 months.

Isn’t Ownership Preferable to Leasing?

While ownership might be preferable when the market is good and values are increasing, if the Great Recession of 2008 taught business owners anything, it is that real estate can tie up a lot of operating capital in a depreciating asset and it isn’t always easy to sell when you need quick access to funds. As Steve Jaffe, the Chief Investment Officer for BH Properties, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate investment firm, said, “Many business owners have also come to see the ‘light’ that owning their own real estate is a drain on their ability to grow their business.”

Leasing on a reservation can have distinct advantages over ownership. First, you eliminate the large initial capital outlay for land purchase. Moreover, some tribes will roll your construction costs into a long-term lease so you can amortize your development costs over the duration of your lease. Instead of tying up a large portion of your operating capital that may or may not appreciate, you use your capital to get your company growing immediately.

Are there other advantages to locating on tribal lands?

Other benefits of tribal locations may include tribal employment incentives, tax exemptions, as well as savings on utilities and public safety, especially if these services are tribally-owned. Again, every tribe is unique, so ask about their tax policies. Your business may not only be qualified for tribal exemptions, but also State and federal incentives.

How do I allay the doubts of wary company executives?

The best way to dispel fears is to talk with current tenants about their experience. When Brent Scott, VP and General Manager of M&S Equipment, a 10-year tenant in Ak-Chin’s industrial park, Santa Cruz Commerce Center, was asked this question, he said, “We had never leased in our company’s history. We were a little nervous to do so. I can tell you honestly that Ak-Chin has been great to work with. They took the time and effort to listen to our concerns and wishes and structured a lease that works well for us and our style of business.”

It just goes to show with a little basic understanding, tribal locations can provide great opportunities for businesses.