Advanced Disposal Services Inc. has negotiated incentives for a headquarters location in St. Johns County, a week after the Jacksonville City Council approved a package of assistance to keep the Baymeadows-based company in Duval County.
The company is reviewing three other sites outside of Florida as well — Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; and Milwaukee. It proposes to consolidate headquarters functions and add 85 jobs.
Both the Jacksonville and St. Johns County deals are just below $700,000. Each also would expect $200,000 from the governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund.
Advanced Disposal filed the incentives application request Friday with the St. Johns County Commission, which added it to the agenda at the last minute and unanimously approved it Tuesday, according to Economic Development Director Melissa Glasgow.
The incentives details were not available online this morning.
Glasgow said the St. Johns County deal includes a local two-year tangible personal property incentive of $75,460 and its share of a $595,000 state and local incentive from the state’s Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund program.
Under the QTI program, St. Johns County will pay 20 percent, or $119,000, while the state will cover the remaining 80 percent, or $476,000.
In summary, St. Johns County would be responsible for $194,460 of the total incentives offer of $670,460. However, Glasgow said additional state incentives could boost the total to more than $1 million. She did not detail what those could be.
On Oct. 9, The Jacksonville City Council approved a $695,000 incentives package for Advanced Disposal, including a $595,000 QTI request with the High Impact Sector bonus.
As with the St. Johns County deal, the City would contribute $119,000 and the state would pay the remaining $476,000.
Jacksonville agreed to additional $100,000 Recapture Enhanced Value grant, also known as a REV grant. The City bases that grant on the company’s property taxes and investment.
Glasgow said company officials indicated they would likely make a decision on a new headquarters within the next 30 days.
She said the company has reviewed two or three properties in St. Johns County for a headquarters site, but would not elaborate.
“We’re hopeful they will select St. Johns County,” she said.
Mayor Alvin Brown’s office issued a statement this morning.
“Advanced Disposal continues to be a good partner with the City of Jacksonville. We will continue to work with them on any opportunity to invest in Jacksonville and provide more jobs here.”
Advanced Disposal’s Jacksonville incentives request was not on the original Council agenda for Oct. 9, but was added after the Council Finance Committee earlier that day approved the deal to move on.
Advanced Disposal is an environmental services and waste management company and faces questions about possibly owing hosting fees to the City because of non-recycled waste tonnage.
Two committees approved the incentives but the hosting fees drew questions in Finance.
Charlie Appleby, chairman and CEO of Advanced Disposal, said in an August interview with the Daily Record for the 89.9 FM First Coast Connect program than he wanted to keep the headquarters in Jacksonville.
Asked if he saw keeping the company in Jacksonville, he responded:
“Personally, I hope to. We acquired a company headquartered in Milwaukee and we are merging with a sister company that’s headquartered in New Jersey and each of us has corporate headquarters in each of those locations. I am from Northeast Florida. I was raised in Palatka. I prefer to stay here,” he said.
“I am chairman of the board, but we have to report to a board and we have to make an informed business decision. I certainly hope that informed business decision points to Jacksonville,” he said.
According to the Jacksonville City Council project summary, Advanced Disposal is considering consolidating the corporate headquarters of Interstate Waste Services based in Basking Ridge, N.J., and Veolia Environmental Services Solid Waste North America based in Milwaukee, which the company is purchasing.
“The proposed consolidation of the corporate headquarters for the three businesses in Jacksonville, (operating as Advanced Disposal Services) will result in a fully integrated environmental services company operating in 20 states with annual revenues of approximately $1.4 billion, a fleet of over 3,000 trucks, 47
landfills, 92 transfer stations and 5,450 employees,” the summary said.
It said Advanced Disposal expects the consolidation will retain 35 headquarters employees and create 85 new, full-time jobs in 2013. The 85 new corporate headquarters jobs will pay an average annual wage of $112,209 plus benefits, it said.
The company also proposes to invest $8.2 million in leasehold improvements, machinery, equipment, furniture and technology infrastructure.
”Milwaukee, the headquarters for Veolia, has move-in ready space and Wisconsin has an attractive incentive package to assist in the relocation. Both Charlotte and Atlanta offer a centralized location for efficient travel and attractive incentive packages to cover relocation expenses and capital build-outs,” the summary said.
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