Ocean State Jobbers, headquartered in the Quonset Industrial Park in North Kingstown, RI, owns and operates 120 discount retail stores throughout the Northeast. Sustained increases in demand and the opportunity to expand to the south and west is straining the current capacity of the company’s existing distribution center.
Approved Incentive
Ocean State Jobbers is proposing to hire 125 new full time employees with a median annual salary of $47,036 as part of an expansion of operations. The Company could double the current distribution center footprint in Quonset, or build a new facility in Pennsylvania, closer to growth markets for intended retail expansion.
Explanation
By building a new facility in Pennsylvania, Ocean State Jobbers projected to save $2.0 million to $4.4 million in operational costs annually. As a result of the Qualified Jobs Tax Credits and the Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credits, however, the company has decided to expand distribution and corporate operations in Rhode Island.
Based on current salary estimates, Ocean State Jobbers would be eligible for annual Qualified Jobs Tax Credits of approximately $325,000 (upon completion of full hiring schedule) for a 10-year cumulative total of $3.2 million.
The recommended term of the tax incentive agreement is 10 years, and the Company has indicated that it will commit to maintaining the net new jobs in Rhode Island for at least the required 12 years.
To fill these jobs, Ocean State Jobbers will advertise and recruit internally and externally, leveraging the company’s website and internet job boards. New hires will have access to Ocean State Jobbers’ career development programs. These positions are expected to be filled over the course of the next three calendar years.
To support Ocean State Jobbers’s planned $49 million expansion to its distribution center, the company would also be eligible for Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credits of $3.1 million. The Company would also be eligible for exemption on Rhode Island sales taxes on building and other materials subject to sales tax, which is preliminarily estimated to be valued at approximately $1.5 million.
The company expects construction to begin by the end of calendar year 2016, and is anticipated to take about 2.5 years to complete. The Tax Credits would be issued upon certificate of occupancy, not before January 1, 2017.