Several state senators will tour The Hormel Institute Thursday to view plans for a proposed $27 million expansion.

The Austin Port Authority is requesting $13.5 million in state bonding funds, which would cover half of the expansion cost. The rest of the funding would be through an Austin Port Authority bonding issuance, meaning the port authority would own the expansion and the Hormel Foundation would be in a contractual agreement to make bond payments.

Members of the state Senate Capital Investment Committee will make The Institute tour as part of a two-day trip through southern Minnesota. Sen. Dan Sparks, DFL-Austin, is a member of the visiting committee and said he will be leading the tour.

Sparks said he’s excited to showcase The Institute because it’s not only good for Austin, but it’s good for the whole state. He said he’s hopeful his colleagues will support the expansion.

“I’ll be there to introduce the bonding committee to the folks at The Institute, and obviously it’s a big deal to even have the committee stop here,” Sparks said. “We’ll make a good pitch to the committee tomorrow and I’m going to do everything I can to help get (the bonding dollars) approved.”

The Institute officially announced plans for an expansion in October, when the house capital investment committee toured the facility.

The Hormel Institute, founded in 1942, tripled its size with an expansion in 2008 and since has gone from 60 employees to 130. Now, it’s at full capacity and ready to expand again.

Institute officials said the expansion would create 125 high-paying jobs and nearly double the size of the Institute. The 125 new jobs would have an average starting pay of $40,000 to $50,000.

The expansion would take place on The Institute’s existing land, with 23 properties purchased to the east used for parking.