Smucker could receive up to $10.6M in incentives from state, Weld County, Longmont

LONGMONT — Ohio-based J.M. Smucker Co. could receive up to $10.6 million in incentives if it goes through with its plans announced earlier this week to build a $340 million manufacturing plant in the eastern portion of Longmont in Weld County.

The incentive packages would be from the state of Colorado, worth $1.1 million; Weld County, nearly $3 million; and up to $6.5 million from the city of Longmont.

The project is contingent on the approval of the tax and business incentives that range from cash payments to fee and tax rebates and are tied to the number of jobs created and meeting wage requirements for employees.

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The plan would be built in two phases, and it could employ up to 500 employees when built out. The project would employ about 650 construction workers, according to a city of Longmont public document.

J.M. Smucker has 60 acres of vacant land under contract in the Concepts Industrial Park at the northwest corner of Colorado Highway 119 and Fairview Street, where it would build the plant.

Jenifer Doane, a spokeswoman for Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, said J.M. Smucker qualified for a performance-based incentive in the form of a $1.1 million cash grant awarded through the state’s Strategic Fund Incentive program that is authorized by the Colorado Economic Development Council. The grant is dependent on J.M. Smucker creating 382 new full-time jobs at an average annual wage of $54,241, she said.

Rich Werner, president and chief executive of Greeley-based Upstate Colorado Economic Development, said Weld County has offered a personal-property-tax rebate on equipment of 50 percent for 10 years, that he estimates to be worth $2.4 million. The county also will provide J.M. Smucker with a $500,000 grant to be used to train new employees, he said.

Werner said one of the keys to J.M. Smucker choosing the site in Longmont after looking at several sites in other states, was its proximity to a rail line. The Great Western Railway runs parallel to the north side of the Concepts Industrial Park. The Great Western Railway operates about 80 miles of track in Colorado and interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad as well as the BNSF Railway.

The city of Longmont is considering an ordinance next week, that if passed, would offer J.M. Smucker up to $6.5 million in tax rebates on building permit and planning fees, sales-use taxes on materials for construction and equipment for the plant, as well as personal-property taxes.

To receive the incentives from Longmont, J.M. Smucker would be required to pay its employees an annual wage of $48,977, 105 percent of the average wage in Weld County that is $46,644.

Based on the estimated total direct fiscal impact of the project of approximately $12.3 million after rebates and concessions, the city will still recognize an estimated $5.8 million in net direct fiscal impact over 10 years.