The reality of a $35-million project upgrading and expanding Whirlpool Corporation’s St. Joseph Technology Center to bring it dramatically into the future is a step closer tonight following action by the St. Joseph City Commission. Commissioners conducted a brief public hearing and then voted to establish a Commercial Rehabilitation District for 3 parcels in the Edgewater District north of the St. Joseph River.
As Cornerstone Alliance President Rob Cleveland told commissioners in his presentation tonight, that is a major step forward for the 4-phase project which is slated to get underway this summer and be completed by the year 2020.
By establishing the Commercial Rehabilitation District for the project, commissioners have approved freezing the tax rate on those properties for up to ten years after which the property to return to its then current taxable value and the city will garner even higher property taxes from that date forward.
Tonight’s action will freeze the current tax rate as soon as the project begins. That rate currently generates in the neighborhood of $3.2-million for the city each year. Commissioners and Cleveland both clarified that the district designation allows the rate to be frozen, but not reduced, the city will not lose any tax dollars they are already getting, they just won’t get the increased valuation dollars until the 10-year period is complete.
Commissioners were happy to provide the major appliance manufacturer with the assistance to help pave the way for a 90-to-100-thousand square foot addition worth about $24-million in addition to a substantive makeover of the decades old St. Joe Tech Center through an additional $11-million investment for upgrades and renovations. In so doing, the Commission has helped solidify the 700+ jobs that are provided there.
Commissioner Fran Chickering asked for clarification on how some of the vacant land can be considered and Cleveland and Whirlpool exec Lee Utke pointed out that there were once structures on those parcels that don’t currently have buildings on them which makes them eligible. Had they never been occupied by a physical structure that would not have been the case.
The project will also help consolidate the three separate parcels into a single land mass for tax simplification purposes going forward according to city staff.
Utke thanked the commissioners citing the “long term relationship enjoyed between the city and the company, which is one that we very much look forward to continuing.”
To learn more about the project as it was originally proposed a couple of weeks ago, click the link below for details outlined at the time of the request by Whirlpool at that city commission meeting:
https://www.moodyonthemarket.com/whirlpool-reveals-plan-for-35m-upgrade-expansion-at-sj-tech-center/
