By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The Wood County Commissioners approved a tax break this morning for “Project Freddie” – suspected to be an Amazon fulfillment center in the Crossroads area of Rossford.
The commissioners’ action came on the heels of Rossford City Council’s approval of the tax break Monday evening.
The terms of the enterprise zone agreement call for 100 percent abatement of real property taxes for 15 years. The deal also guarantees that Rossford schools and Penta Career Center will be made whole in the process, with Rossford schools set to receive more than $500,000 a year for the life of the agreement.
“Project Freddie” is expected to create 1,000 full-time jobs, with an annual payroll of $27.3 million.
The facility will be between 600,000 and 900,000 square feet, and the overall project investment will be between $175 million and $250 million.
The facility is planned on 100 acres between Deimling Road and South Compass Drive, behind the Home Depot store off U.S. 20. According to plans, the site will have parking spaces for 1,800 cars and 300 tractor trailer trucks.
Wade Gottschalk, executive director of the Wood County Economic Development Commission, said teamwork between Rossford, the county building inspection office, county engineer’s office, water and sewer district, and county prosecutor’s office helped ensure the success of the project.
“The team has been phenomenal getting this done,” Gottschalk said. “We turned this around in a very short amount of time.”
Rex Huffman, of the Wood County Port Authority, agreed.
“It’s just been a culmination of years of building a team,” he said.
The Wood County Port Authority voted last month to allow the construction firm working on the project to avoid sales tax on building supplies. Such an abatement on sales tax is customary for huge projects like this, Huffman said.
“It’s pretty much a given now if you’re doing a big project,” Huffman said after the port authority meeting.
The construction firm, Duke Realty, asked the port authority to act on the tax break quickly so the building process could begin.
Wood County Commissioner Doris Herringshaw praised the local teamwork.
“We certainly appreciate all the effort all of you have put into this to make it a go,” she said.
Even with the project moving ahead, the name “Amazon” is not being shared openly. However, last December, the unnamed company was mistakenly named as Amazon by the county building inspection office.
The company, economic development officials and city leaders where the development is planned are still remaining tight-lipped about the name of the company – dubbing it “Project Freddie” for the purposes of discussion.
