Cement facility at port receives committee approval for tax relief

(Updated 11:19 a.m.)
PROVIDENCE — A key committee of the Providence City Council voted Tuesday to recommend a tax stabilization agreement for real estate and tangible property taxes to help facilitate development of a cement distribution center at the Port of Providence.
McInnis Cement U.S.A., a subsidiary of Montreal-based McInnis Cement, is entering the U.S. market and plans to make the distribution center its hub for the Northeast, according to its attorney.
The proposed $22 million cement facility, to be built at 39 New York Ave., could begin accepting shipments of cement as soon as the fall, according to an executive who attended the hearing.
The twin TSAs recommended for approval by the Finance Committee of the City Council would allow property taxes at the location as well as city taxes on equipment, or tangible assets, to be phased in over a 12-year span.

Under the property tax TSA, the company will pay $50,000 annually for the first five years, and then pay larger amounts, in increases of 11 percent, so that by the end of the 12th year, it pays the full tax for the site.

The company will pay no tangible property taxes for its first three years of operation at the port, and then will pay a phased in tax based on what is expected to be $8 million in investments on site. If the company puts more than $9.5 million into the property, it will pay tax on whatever exceeds that cap. The city estimated the tangible tax relief has a $3.2 million value for the company over the 12 years.
Council members who voted for the plan noted that it will create jobs, turn an undeveloped site at the port into taxable property, and hopefully spark additional economic development in Providence.
The project is expected to create 38 to 40 permanent jobs, including for truckers to haul materials from the facility. It is also expected to employ 30 to 40 construction workers during the development stage.
The TSA requests now move to the full council for approval.

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