More Corporate Welfare, negotiated in secret, by St. Johns County Administrator HUNTER SINCLAIR CONRAD & Co. Florida Republican Welfare Queens are never happy when they're not putting one over on St. Johns County residents.
Taxpayers deserve watchdogs, not lapdogs.
County Commission will consider this outrageous proposal at their meeting on May 18, 2021.
Lawyer for the PGA Tour is Ellen Avery-Smith of ROGERS TOWERS.
From St. Augustine Record:
PGA Tour requests $23M economic incentive package for global media center in St. Johns County
"Project Breeze," which is proposed to receive an economic incentive package of more than $23 million from St. Johns County, has been revealed to be a digital media center for the global headquarters for the PGA Tour in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The draft agreement is on the agenda for review by the County Board of Commissioners at its meeting Tuesday.
According to documents filed with the county, the 150,000-square-foot facility will be built to house the organization's broadcast media operations on property owned by the PGA Tour on Palm Valley Road.
County Commissioners voted 4-1 on April 6 to approve a request to draft an economic development agreement for the applicant who was not identified at that time.
If the PGA Tour moves forward with the project, construction is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024. Based on that schedule, the first annual grant payment would be anticipated during fiscal year 2025, with an estimated annual payout of $671,150.
In addition to incentives sought for construction, the company requested that the 145 retained jobs at an existing facility on the PGA Tour campus be considered in the package as well.
In January, the company completed construction of the Tour’s 187,000-square-foot new “global home” on County Road 210 at an estimated cost of $65 million, which will eventually house more than 800 employees. The complex replaced 17 buildings that were previously used for company operations.
The media center is anticipated to create 45 new jobs at an average wage of $79,442, according to the PGA Tour's draft agreement with the county. The PGA Tour estimates to make an investment of $100 million in the project, including the cost of land, building and equipment.
The project is expected to "bring $304 million in direct economic impact per year and $16.7 million in school taxes over 30 years," according to county documents.
A spokesperson with the PGA Tour could not be immediately reached for comment.
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