The planned distribution facility will be the first built at the industrial park, located on Prime Parkway in Springfield, which was created in order to aid local economic development efforts.
Neither the name of NP Springfield’s client nor the nature of their operations has been released to the public, said Horton Hobbs, the vice president of Economic Development for the Greater Springfield Partnership.
Hobbs, who is part of the Community Improvement Corporation, said that land at the industrial park would be purchased by NP Springfield. He said the project to build the distribution facility depends on if local and state economic incentives are approved.
That includes an Enterprise Zone Agreement that will provide a 100% tax abatement for 15 years regarding property at 1801-1830 Prime Parkway.
That abatement was approved by the Clark-Shawnee Local Board of Education last month and is expected to be voted on by Springfield City Commissioners by the end of September.
In order for the Enterprise Incentive Agreement to go through, it must be approved by Springfield officials.
If the Enterprise Incentive Agreement is approved by the city as well as any incentives state organizations and agencies may offer to NP Springfield’s client, the plan is to build a 870,000 square-foot facility that can be expanded to 1.3 million square-feet.
Hobbs said the planned facility would be used for distribution but did not share any other details other than it would create a significant amount of new jobs.
“It has not been fully disclosed at this point, but it will be a significant job creation for the community,” he said of the facility.
Hobbs said if pending economic incentives are not approved or the project does not go forward for whatever reason than the land would be returned. He said he could not speak on what incentives may be presented to NP Springfield’s client by state economic development organizations.
“It’s not a done deal if you will, but we have to take necessary steps to get things in place to meet aggressive timelines presented by the developer (NP Springfield) and the client,” he added.
Preparation for the site could start as early as this week. However, it is still unclear when construction would start on the planned facility or when it would be operational.
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