Incentives package may determine fate of Bluffs business
May 16th, 2014 by Ric Hanson
Iowa economic development officials today are expected to approve tax benefits that will determine whether or not a longtime Council Bluffs business stays on the east side of the Missouri River. The Omaha World-Herald reports in an application for incentives worth more than $4.5 million, Interstate Electric Supply Co. indicated it would move 108 employees from its existing facilities near 35th Street and U.S. Highway 6 to Nebraska if it did not receive adequate financial incentives from the State of Iowa.
With the incentives, Interstate Electric Supply Co. plans to spend about $10.7 million to move its wholesale facility and other operations to a 13-acre parcel at the intersection of 24th Street and U.S. 275/Highway 92 in Council Bluffs. Plans call for 190,000 square feet of warehouse space in addition to a training center and a storage yard for equipment. IES says in its incentives application that it was “strongly considering” a site in Sarpy County, where property taxes on a comparable project would be half of what the company will spend in Iowa.
The Council Bluffs City Council in late April gave unanimous approval to the company’s application for benefits under the High Quality Jobs Program, which is administered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. That organization’s board meets in Des Moines at 10 a.m. today and is expected to approve the project.
The proposed deal includes a partial property tax abatement worth more than $2.8 million over 15 years in addition to state tax credits including sales tax refunds on building materials and investment tax credits. The company expects to finish the project in spring 2016 and will create eight new jobs.