A Fortune 500 company wants to expand its Jacksonville presence, constructing a new facility and adding 35 jobs in return for $214,000 in tax breaks.
Ecolab, a St. Paul, Minn.-based company in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services, is proposing to lease a 120,000-square-foot build-to-suit facility within the Tradeport Industrial Park for its medical device health care division operation, Microtek Medical.
Ecolab acquired the company in 2007 and has been operating in a 88,000-square-foot facility near on A.C. Skinner Parkway.
The new building is expected to be completed by July. The operations are expected to increase cargo shipments in and out of the Jacksonville Port Authority, according to the economic development agreement.
The agreement and accompanying legislation filed Wednesday to City Council is asking for a Recapture Enhanced Value grant of $214,000.
The grant is a rebate on taxes the company generates through its investment. For this deal, it’s 50 percent of those taxes over a five-year period, not to exceed $214,000.
The new facility would be constructed by Jackson-Shaw, which would invest $7.5 million, while Ecolab would provide another $1.5 million in capital improvements.
Ecolab will retain the 55 jobs it has and expand by 35. Those jobs will be created by the end of 2015 and have an average annual salary of $28,000, plus benefits.
The deal will need a waiver from council after not meeting certain scores on the Office of Economic Development’s evaluation matrix, but is justified because of the $9 million capital investment and job retention and creation, the agreement said.
The deal will be introduced Tuesday to council and has a requested two-reading passage.
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