City ups the ante in bid to lure California firm

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

Henderson's lure to draw a California company to relocate grew by more than $1 million Tuesday after company officials increased their estimate of the number of jobs they might bring here.

Pacer Stacktrain is set to receive a $3.7 million discount on city-owned land it may buy for its next corporate headquarters. The discount grew after company officials said Tuesday they could bring 550 jobs here, 200 more than city officials expected.

Pacer is looking at 28 acres of city-owned land east of Valle Verde Drive in the Whitney Ranch area that was once considered for a new city golf course. A city-commissioned appraisal of the land set the value at about $10 million.

As late as Monday, city officials estimated Pacer would bring 350 jobs to Henderson, and the discount being offered was just under $2.6 million. The discount, an economic development incentive city officials are using to lure Pacer to Henderson, is based on a formula that takes into account the number of jobs plus some of the tax revenue from the project.

That's why the increase in expected jobs announced Tuesday increased the discount. The city can recoup some of the discount if the company does not bring as many jobs.

Plans for the land call for Pacer, which specializes in arranging transportation for freight shipments, to build two office buildings with parking garages and two condominium buildings, according to city documents.

City Councilman Jack Clark said the project would be a "great accomplishment," and other city officials also hailed the possible move.

The council voted 5-0 to support the project and is on track to vote on Sept. 7 on a proposal to sell the land. A final council vote on the project could come Oct. 19.

A Pacer company official said Monday that plans to move the company headquarters from Concord, Calif., were preliminary, adding that no decision has been made regarding where or even if the company would move.

But on Tuesday, Pacer Vice President of Planning and Administration J.R. Thornton said that while the process has not been finalized, the company will move from California when its lease there expires in July 2006, and Henderson is the only city the company is looking at now.

Thornton said the discount on the land price was an important consideration for company officials.

To offer the company a discount on the land, the city is using for the first time a provision in the City Charter that allows the city to sell land for less than its appraised value if there is an economic development benefit.

The amount of the discount is based on a formula that takes into account some of the tax revenue the company will generate, plus $5,500 for each job the company promises to bring.