Two incentives worth nearly $1 million are on the table to facilitate a $7.8 million expansion of Aisin’s Franklin manufacturing facility.
Seymour-based Aisin USA Manufacturing Inc. has manufactured car door components since 2005 at its Franklin warehouse, 187 Bartram Pkwy. A previously issued tax abatement on the property expired in 2017.
To facilitate the expansion, the developer and Aisin are requesting a 10-year real property tax break and a five-year personal property tax break, respectively.
The 345-acre Franklin Tech Park, owned by Denison Properties Inc., is home to multiple buildings east of Interstate 65, including Aisin, Interstate Warehousing and Energizer.
The Tech Park plans to more than double the size of the building to 299,000 square feet from 146,000 square feet, said Mac McNaught, president of Denison Properties.
The addition will likely be occupied by Aisin but could also be subdivided for another business, depending on the company’s future growth, McNaught said.
The real property tax abatement would save the developer about $935,000 in taxes, while they would pay about $1.1 million during the course of the 10-year abatement, according to tax estimates.
Aisin also is requesting a tax break to purchase $731,000 in new equipment and hire 20 new employees at a base wage of $15 per hour plus benefits, according to city documents.
That abatement would save Aisin about $26,700 in taxes, while the company would pay about $17,300 during the course of the five-year abatement, according to tax estimates.
Aisin may bring more than 20 jobs. The estimate listed on the abatement documents was a conservative figure, McNaught said.
“My recollection is that for the original incentive, they projected 40 employees, and they have well exceeded that,” McNaught said. “You’ll find that they will likely exceed that (20 jobs figure). It is a baseline they were comfortable with.”
Aisin employs 49 people at an average wage of $17.60 per hour, according to city documents.
Aisin and Franklin Tech Park would continue to pay taxes on the existing building and equipment at the current rate, as abatements only apply to new construction and equipment.
The Franklin City Council last week unanimously approved the creation of an economic revitalization area on the property, the first step to approving an abatement.
The council will consider the tax abatements at its meeting today.