City-backed tax incentives are a step closer for a $542 million liquefied natural gas export facility in North Jacksonville.
The Mayor’s Budget Review Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to allow the city Office of Economic Development to file legislation with City Council by Nov. 26 that would approve a development agreement with Eagle LNG Partners.
The Houston-based company is asking the city for $23 million in incentives to begin construction on a liquefied natural gas export facility on 200 acres along Zoo Parkway.
A project summary sent Nov. 4 to city Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes from Kirk Wendland, executive director of the economic development office, states Eagle LNG will invest $58 million in facilities and install about $484 million in manufacturing equipment at the site.
The property is near JaxPort facilities along the St. Johns River.
Wendland said the facility would not be labor intensive. Eagle LNG estimates will create 12 jobs at the facility by Dec. 31, 2023, under the agreement, with an average wage of $85,000.
He said the project, at a total $542 million investment, is “capital intensive” and could create a noticeable increase in the city’s tax base.
“Depending on the assessments, we’re estimating that would be over $5 million in city ad valorem taxes in just the first year of operations,” Wendland said.
Gas shipped from the site will be transported to Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands for power generation, Eagle LNG spokesman and Dalton Agency President Michael Munz said Friday.
Eagle LNG already operates a 200,000-gallon-per-day capacity plant in Maxville. The company’s logistics partner is Crowley Maritime Corp.
“Jacksonville’s becoming a real central point for LNG (liquid natural gas). This continues to solidify that and enhance our reputation in that industry,” Wendland said.
The economic development office wants to offer Eagle LNG up to $23 million in a Recaptured Enhanced Value grant, which would refund 50% of the increase in the site’s property taxes the first 10 years the facility is in operation.
According to Munz, construction for the project will begin by the end of June.
The company expects to begin operations by the end of December 2023. However, the contract would provide Eagle LNG an option for a one-year extension on construction “at a cost that does not exceed the capped amount of the REV Grant,” he said.
First proposed in 2013, the liquefied natural gas facility has been slowly moving through the federal regulatory process.
City officials say the incentives will offset “financial obligations the company took on as a result of unexpected delays by various federal government permitting agencies.”