10A — January 31 - February 13, 2014 — Economic Development — Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
E conomic D evelopment Randy Seitz, Penn-Northwest Development Corporation SEDCO approved for two, 350-acre Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zones
P OTTSVILLE, PA — Schuylkill Eco- nomicDevelopment Corporation (SEDCO) is proud to announce the ap- proval of two, new Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone (KOEZ) designations within Schuylkill County. Each zone is 350 acres in size. One, Schuylkill Highridge Business Park North, straddles Butler and Foster Townships, and the North Schuylkill andMiners- ville Area School Districts. The other zone, Schuylkill County Airport Business Park, lies entirely within
Foster Township and Miners- ville Area School District. Frank J. Zukas , SEDCO president, said “The new KOEZs will allow for contin- ued development of Schuylkill County’s Interstate 81 corri- dor. Many thanks go to the township supervisors, school board members and county commissioners for their par- ticipation in this collabora- tive economic development program. We are also grateful for the overwhelming sup- port that Senator Argall and Representatives Goodman, Knowles and Tobash provid- ed throughout the application
process.” “Governor Corbett contin- ues a commitment to work with local partners to bring new jobs and investment to Pennsylvania’s communi- ties,” said Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary C. Alan Walker . “The KOEZ program embodies that part- nership and has spurred the creation of nearly 40,000 jobs since program inception and as zones expire, new tax rev- enues are generated for the state and local governments. I have no doubt this designa- tion will pave the way for new
growth and jobs in Schuylkill County.” The KOEZ designation means that most local and state taxes will be waived for a period of ten years, beginning on January 1, 2014. Originally established in 1998, the KOZ legisla- tion enables Pennsylvania to remain competitive with other nearby states that of- fer similar tax programs. By incentivizing the develop- ment of challenging or dis- tressed sites, Pennsylvania’s economy can grow with an influx of private investment and new jobs. Zukas explained that Schuylkill County has had prior success with the KOZ program. “The KOEZ for the WalMart Distribution Center in Butler Township expired as of the first of this year. What was once vacant, unproduc- tive land is now contributing hundreds-of-thousands of dollars of revenue to the lo- cal taxing bodies. WalMart employs over nine-hundred people and is committed to giving back to the com- munity. We certainly hope to duplicate this success at the newly-designated KOEZ properties.” Another KOEZ project that recently re-entered the tax- rolls is the Big Lots! Distri- bution Center in Tremont Township. Of the Big Lots! Project, Zukas said “Here was an opportunity to develop a large-scale employment driver in a rural setting. Without the KOEZ program, locating Big Lots! to this site would have been much more difficult. Now there are over four-hundred people work- ing there and the combined local real estate taxes exceed $800,000 per year.” n
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