"Keeping the green in Greencastle" has been an age-old local retail battle cry. Nowadays it works for industrial investment as well.
Industrial investment totaling more than $132 million was presented to the City Council Tuesday night in various stages of the tax-abatement process involving seven local industries.
That local investment just keeps growing, as even an announced $7 million purchase of new injection-molding equipment, unveiled last month by Chiyoda USA Corp. has increased by 10 percent since then.
Chiyoda's new investment at its 2200 E. State Road 240 (the 27.89-acre East Side site formerly owned by Happico) now stands at $7.7 million, reported Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Director Bill Dory.
That will also boost the taxes Chiyoda will pay on its new equipment under terms of the tax abatement approved unanimously Tuesday night.
Chiyoda will now pay $257,000 on the equipment over the 10-year life of the abatement, an increased of $24,000 over what was proposed at the May meeting when by adopting Resolution 2013-10, the Council declared the Chiyoda property as an economic revitalization area to make the site eligible for tax abatement.
As is typical of the tax-abatement process, a public hearing on that proposal was conducted Tuesday night before a final resolution was approved by the Council to adopt the tax abatement for new equipment at the auto parts maker's 293,000-square-foot plant.
...
The Chiyoda project wasn't the only good news the City Council heard Tuesday night.
City officials also learned that IAC Greencastle will be requesting tax abatement on a new project -- whether it involves new equipment or an actual expansion of facilities has not been announced at this point -- at the next City Council meeting.
"IAC is working on a potential project," Dory told the Council. "They ask your indulgence on this (getting the tax abatement ball rolling). We'll have more details at the July meeting."
Tuesday night the Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2013-19, making the IAC property at 750 S. Fillmore Rd. eligible for tax abatement as an economic revitalization area.
...
Indeed, the other six resolutions passed at the meeting (affirming the annual statements of benefits on tax abatements previously issued to local companies) represent 2,258 total jobs plus an additional 200-300 full-time temporary positions along with the aforementioned $132.4 million in investment, Dory said.
"Some of the recent ones (tax abatements granted) are still being phased in," Dory said, meaning they aren't even included in this latest round of resolutions and associated numbers.
The jobs at IAC, Chiyoda, Crown Equipment, Heartland Automotive, FB Distro (Ascena Group) and Phoenix Closures represent a total payroll of $72.8 million, Dory said.
