Worcester sale sets up manufacturer's $725K expansion
The city of Worcester sold one of its parcels of land in the South Worcester Industrial Park for $10,000 to a local manufacturer, marking the first sale of city-owned land in that area.
At a meeting in December, the city council voted unanimously to approve the sale of 33 Southgate St. to O&S Realty, LLC, the wholly owned real estate holding company of manufacturer Absolute Machinery Corp. Absolute has owned other property in the area for about 10 years.
The 28,266-square-foot parcel is next to Absolute’s existing facility at 57 Southgate St., said Michael E. Traynor, the city’s chief development officer, in a letter to City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. With the sale, Absolute will be able to begin a $725,000 expansion, adding 13,000 square feet of gross floor area to include space for administrative offices; new showrooms; warehouse space and an internal loading dock. The expansion will allow Absolute to hire six new employees over the next three years, including professional engineers, metal technicians, licensed riggers and general laborers.
The company will receive a 50-percent tax exemption on the increased property value, saving it about $64,000 in taxes over the 10-year tax-increment-financing deal, which is consistent with Worcester’s economic development plan for SWIP, according to Traynor. The city is estimated to collect $425,000 in taxes over the course of the agreement.
The city acquired many of the SWIP parcels the '90s through tax title and has been trying to redevelop the area ever since. Over the years, about $6.5 million dollars has been invested in SWIP, Traynor said. In its 2014 economic development plan, the city council outlined a pre-set schedule for SWIP projects, based on the size of the building and number of jobs created or retained. The goal is to attract clean, light manufacturers to the area.
Absolute Machinery buys and sells plastic injection molding equipment, warehouses inventory and provides technical support and engineering to its clients, according to its website.
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