Springboro school board discuss Victory Wholesale tax abatement
6 p.m., Thursday, April 14
Springboro Junior High School library
1605 S. Main St.(Ohio 741), Springboro
For information, call 937-748-3960
A wholesale grocer wants more than $2 million in property tax breaks in exchange for moving 77 jobs from Monroe and creating 50 new jobs at its headquarters in Springboro.
Without the tax abatement, the family owned Victory, which started in Springboro, could move to Monroe or to Northern Kentucky.
Brothers Trading Co., doing business as Victory Wholesale Group, is seeking full forgiveness for 15 years of property taxes on a 255,000 square foot, $10 million expansion proposed off Pioneer Boulevard in Springboro.
“Without the tax abatement, I am afraid that the project in Springboro would not be financially feasible, and we would need to look to consolidate all operations elsewhere,” Scott Mattis, vice president at Victory Wholesale Group, said in an letter to Springboro city officials.
According to Warren County Auditor Matt Nolan, property taxes on a $10 million building in Springboro would be $190,000 per year — $126,700 of that going to the Springboro school district. Over 15 years, that would exceed $2.8 million, about $1.9 million for the schools.
On Thursday, the Springboro school board is to discuss the city of Springboro’s plan to share income taxes from the project with the district by paying the district $37,500 a year in lieu of property taxes from the development, as required by state law. The payment is seen as an even split of income tax on $5 million in annual payroll generated by the expansion.
Victory, started in Springboro by Milt Kantor in 1978, already occupies 400,000 square feet and employs 127 employees at the end of Victory Lane, a cul-de-sac off Pioneer Boulevard in Springboro.
In four years, it plans to add 50 jobs and shift 77 jobs from a rented facility in Monroe. However, company officials indicated they were also looking at locations in Monroe and Northern Kentucky.
“In addition the applicant has been offered free land by Northern Kentucky to relocate there,” according to a brief description of the proposed tax abatement.
Monroe officials indicated they expected Victory to expand in Springboro, not Monroe.
“It is our understanding that Victory Wholesale is considering a move to consolidate operations in Springboro. While the city strives to assist all of our businesses with their growth plans, we recognize that there are other opportunities that may suit a company’s needs and development goals. We think that the possible consolidation in Springboro would be a great win for the region, and we hope that any future transition is smooth for the company and its employees,” Jennifer A. Patterson, assistant to the city manager in Monroe, said via email.
Victory plans to begin construction on July 1 and finish the project in March, according to records.
Instead of indicating the projected property tax loss from the abatement, the documents provided to the school district note the development would bring in $419,916 more in property taxes than if the land remained undeveloped.
Victory, which already was awarded a 1.135 percent, six-year tax credit from the Ohio Tax Credit Authority on the new job creation, indicated it needs the break on property taxes due to $1.9 million in development costs for grading and wetlands mitigation.
The company could move the state tax credit to a location in Monroe, but not Northern Kentucky, according to the Ohio Development Services Agency.
“Businesses need to do what’s best for their business plan,” spokesperson Stephanie Gostomski said.
Alvin Eder, a vice president at Victory, said the company was being wooed by communities in Ohio and Kentucky but hoped to consolidate in Springboro.
“There’s a lot of competition for companies and for jobs,” Eder said. “We’d like this one to be the one that works.”
Springboro City Council has scheduled a May 19 meeting on the project, but no plans have yet been submitted for review by the planning commission, officials said.
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