By: Unknown
From: The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Feb. 23--Jewelry Television is a step closer to building a new multimillion-dollar corporate headquarters in West Knoxville after getting preliminary approval for a 20-year tax break Tuesday.
Under a tent at the proposed 50-acre site in Pellissippi Corporate Center, Knox County commissioners voted unanimously to permit payments in lieu of taxes for 20 years. The current limit is 15 years.
"This is so important in terms of creating jobs," County Commissioner Diane Jordan said after the vote, which drew applause from about 200 Jewelry Television employees.
The Knoxville-based 24-hour shopping network wants to build an estimated $20 million, 300,000-square-foot headquarters. The Development Corporation of Knox County owns the land, which is valued at $3.3 million.
Jewelry Television would pay $275,000 per year for 20 years instead of paying property taxes -- slightly less than a $3.3 million mortgage at 6 percent and slightly more than property taxes on a $20 million building.
The Development Corp. plans to use proceeds from the deal to purchase land for other industries. The Development Corp. and Industrial Development Board could give final approval next month.
Other communities were trying to attract the network, local officials said. "There is not a city that would (not) kill to have a deal like this," said Mike Edwards, president and CEO of the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership.
The network's primary location currently is a strip center on Kingston Pike just east of Pellissippi Parkway.
The tax deal doesn't use the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program put in place to standardize tax incentives. With each project "we look at the best scenario, look at what makes sense," said Rhonda Rice, executive vice president of the partnership.
"We're always looking for ways to be creative. Economic development is very competitive. We want to have good deals for Knox County."
JEWELRY TELEVISION'S NEW HQ:
--Location: 50 acres in Pellissippi Corporate Center
--Size: 300,000 square feet
--Preliminary cost: $20-$25 million, with $8-10 million in furniture and equipment
--Completion date: March 2007
--New jobs: 750 by 2008, in addition to more than 1,500 now. Projected total of 3,500 employees by 2013.
--2004 revenue: $300 million-plus
-----
To see more of The Knoxville News-Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.knoxnews.com.
(c) 2005, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
