The manufacturer also plans on adding 20 to 25 jobs once its new location, slated to be built northeast of the intersection of State Route 55 and Edgewood Avenue in Urbana, is completed, according to a news release from the Champaign Economic Partnership.
Construction is projected to start in August or September and company officials anticipate moving their operations into the new facility in the fall of 2022.
The project will combine the operations of Sutphen’s three facilities in the area including its Service and Technical Division on North Ludlow Road as well as two on West County Line Road that house the companies Urbana Chassis Division and Pumper Division.
The company leases those spaces, according to Marcia Bailey, the director of the Champaign Economic Partnership.
Representatives of the Sutphen said that their new facility will be built on 55 acres of land and it will allow for future growth and expansion.
“Having worked with the Urbana community for many years, we are confident that Urbana is the ideal place to facilitate expansion,” said the manufacture’s president Drew Sutphen in the news release.
“Between its hardworking people and its business-friendly environment, we look forward to continuing our growth in Urbana for years to come,” he added.
Bailey said that Sutphen has been looking to consolidate its local operation for some time and noted that they had looked at other locations to build a new facility, including in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Bailey said that incentives were proposed to ensure that Sutphen would stay and expand in the Urbana area. She said that the location of the new facility as well as an existing workforce in the area also prompted Sutphen’s decision.
One of the incentives proposed includes a 90% real estate tax abatement for the new facility for a period of 15 years. That abatement was approved by the company, the City of Urbana and the Urbana City School District, according to Bailey.
However, income taxes collected from the 160 or more employees that will be working at the new facility is slated to be split between the city and school district.
Bailey said that tax would be split 50-50 between those two entities once new payroll from Sutphen’s new Urbana facility exceeds $1 million.
Though an announcement has been made about the planned construction of the new facility, that project is contingent upon approval of JobsOhio and other economic development incentives that were proposed, Bailey said.
She said those pending incentives have not been released to the public and once those are approved, construction on the new facility will begin.
Representatives of Sutphen did not respond to a request for additional comment as of Tuesday afternoon regarding the planned project and it is unclear how much money will be invested into constructing the new facility.
By the numbers:
160 - number of people working for the Sutphen Corporation in the Urbana area
3 - number of facilities the manufacturer currently operates in the area
25 - number of new jobs that will be added as a result of the new facility
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