Two tax abatement requests that faced some opposition last week from the county council easily sailed through the Bartholomew County commissioners Monday.
The commissioners approved resolutions regarding statement of benefits for property in an economic revitalization area for two industrial sites in German Township. One is for Georg Utz, Inc., while the second is for Force Holdings, LLC.
Georg Utz, Inc., a plastic container manufacturer located north of the Edinburgh Premium Outlets, will spend $11.8 million to expand its 160,000 square foot production and warehouse facility by 135,500 square feet, according to the company’s written resolution. Property taxes on real estate will be phased in over 10 years.
The manufacturer is also purchasing an additional $7.5 million in new equipment, with property taxes phased in over five years, the application states.
The company will be able to maintain its 108 current jobs, as well as add another 46 permanent jobs with an average wage of $25.13 per hour, by the end of next year, according to the resolution.
When the county council approved this abatement on a 5-2 vote, concern was expressed that all previous abatements provided to Georg Utz, Inc. may be shortchanging schools, fire departments and other public institutions that need property tax revenue to operate.
But the company paid more than $68,000 in real property taxes last year, as well as another $35,000 in personal property taxes, according to Jason Hester, President of the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp.
“So this company is now paying $100,000 a year in property taxes, and will continue to pay those taxes even with the abatement,” Hester said. The phase-in only applies to new property taxes result from expansion or improvements.
Georg Utz, Inc. has not only met, but in most cases, exceeded the amount of jobs promised in exchange for several earlier tax abatements dating back to 2008, county council member Jorge Morales said.
A second abatement was approved for Force Holdings, LLC — a family-owned investment and development company described by Hester as an off-shoot of Force Construction.
The family firm wants to build its fourth speculative shell building for companies seeking an already-made building that they can occupy in a comparatively short period of time. It will consist of walls, high ceiling and unfinished floors, with everything else installed as the purchaser specifies, Hester said.
Approximately $3.2 million will be invested to construct the 50,000 square foot shell building on two lots within the Meadow Lawn Industrial Park, located north of County Road 800N between Executive Drive and County Road 250W.
Other attributes regarding the shell building brought up during Monday’s meeting include:
Studies that show more than 70% of companies looking for a Midwest manufacturing facility are seeking an existing building.
Having a shell building in place is attractive for manufacturers because the cumbersome local and state permitting process required for commercial buildings has already been completed.
Bartholomew County has missed out on more than 50 opportunities in the last two years because there was not a suitable existing empty building for a manufacturer.
The structure that will be built can be expanded to as much as 400,000 square feet.
In the last three years, there has been more interest in this area from potential companies than in the last 20 years.
While one lot of current agricultural ground only provides $178 annually in property taxes, that same parcel will begin providing over $1,000 annually after the shell structure is erected next year.
“So even with the abatement, it’s going to be bringing in five to eight times more in property taxes than it is currently bringing in?” commissioner Tony London asked.
Hester replied that more than $60,000 will be collected from the building over the first 10 years, followed by $21,000 annually — if tax assessments rise as predicted, Hester said.
Improvements to both the exterior and interior will make the company’s property taxes rise even more, he added.
