HANCOCK COUNTY — The county has entered into an agreement with a developer outlining incentives and payments to the county regarding a 10-building business park with structures totaling nearly 6 million square feet.
Indianapolis-based GDI Construction is developing its East 70 Logistics Park on the north side of County Road 400N west of Mt. Comfort Road. Plans were already in place for five industrial logistics buildings, two of which are complete, and plans for five more were recently added.
County officials already approved tax breaks for the park’s first five buildings before starting its recent development incentive process involving economic development agreements. Ten-year real property tax abatements for the latter five are outlined in an agreement adopted earlier this week. The agreement also calls for GDI to pay economic development payments to the county, which can be used for capital or operating costs for emergency management, 911, police, fire, other public safety services, educational services or any other lawful purpose.
The agreement estimates the five properties will bring in nearly $23 million in real property taxes and economic development payments throughout their respective 10-year periods, about half of what the county would be estimated to get without the incentives.
Of the funds estimated for the county, nearly $11.5 million would be from economic development payments for public safety and schools.
The agreement also calls for GDI to issue over $8 million in bonds to fund infrastructure improvements needed for the park. Half of the real property taxes generated by all of the park’s buildings will go toward paying off the debt.
Hancock County is contributing $1 million toward the park’s infrastructure as well from its economic development income tax fund, which will also be reimbursed from taxes generated by the park.
John Jessup, president of the Hancock County Board of Commissioners, said the agreement allows the county to free up money that otherwise wouldn’t be accessible due to development contributing toward the county exceeding the limit at which the state allows budgets to grow. That drives down property tax rates, but not in a meaningful way for most homeowners, as their properties are already at the 1% tax caps. Instead, the benefit of the tax rate drop is felt more by commercial properties and leads to less money available to county government.
“But doing it this way helps us keep the tax rates up closer to what they should be, and we’re able to capture it in a way that allows us to be able to make better investments in public safety and roads,” Jessup said of the economic development agreement.
The agreement was the fourth to be adopted by the county, followed by three with Exeter Property Group last month. Others are in preparation.