Resolutiuon providing preliminary approval for economic development assistance to Sterilite Corporation.  

The Sterilite Corporation, headquartered in Townsend, MA, is the largest plastics housewares company in North America and has been in operation for over 75 years. They manufacture a wide variety of goods including food storage, laundry and utility products and organizational totes. Sterilite currently has operations in six states.

Sterilite is considering the construction of a manufacturing facility and distribution center on 160 acres adjacent to the Eastern Iowa Industrial Center. The building is estimated to have 2,463,000 square feet; 384,000 square feet will be manufacturing space and the remainder distribution space. The project will create 500 full time positions with 100 of the positions paying at least $18.75/hour and the remainder of the positions paying $12.00 to $16.00 per hour. All positions are supported with a benefit package.

Sterilite is also seeking financial assistance from the State of Iowa’s High Quality Jobs program and training funds from Eastern Iowa Community College. In return for the creation of 500 jobs and a minimum assessed valuation of $55 million, the City of Davenport will pursue inclusion of the site into the North Urban Renewal Area and is proposing the following incentives:

· Forgivable loan of $3,000,000 paid out following the certificate of occupancy on the manufacturing facility

· Infrastructure (electric, gas, sanitary sewer and water) brought to the facility (estimated cost of $1,262,500)

· Rail spur onto project site (estimated cost of $1,800,000)

· Road and intersection improvements adjacent to and leading to site (estimated cost of $3,350,000)

· Partial rebate of property taxes paid by Sterilite for a 15 year period (estimated to be $8,361,600)

· For 15 years all property taxes paid for the assessed value portion greater than $64,000,000, net those taxes restricted by Iowa TIF law, will be reimbursed to the company.

The City is also pursuing funding assistance from the State of Iowa’s Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) program to assist with roadway improvements and the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program to assist with the rail spur. These programs are anticipated to help offset a portion of the City’s cost.

The approval of this resolution documents the following items:

1. City Council’s preliminary approval of City participation in the project in support of the company’s application to the Iowa Economic Development Authority for financial assistance and serves as the proposed source of any State required local match.
2. Authorizes the Mayor to sign documents as related to the project.
3. Authorizes staff to begin the process to include the site, located at the southwest corner of Division Street and Slopertown Road, into the North Urban Renewal Area.