By Bob Fowler, Knoxville News-Sentinel
KINGSTON – Roane County dangled big incentives to land a huge Volkswagen regional distribution center, officials said after groundbreaking ceremonies Tuesday.
There’s the 100 percent property tax break for 10 years, the $435,000 worth of local matches of two state grants totaling more than $1 million, and a break-even land purchase deal.
In ex-change, the company will invest $40 million in a 400,000-square-foot warehouse that will result in 45 jobs in the Roane Regional Business and Technology Park. The annual payroll is pegged at $3 million. The facility can be expanded to 600,000 square feet, officials said.
The long-term payoff, says Roane County industrial recruiter Leslie Henderson, is the cachet the Volkswagen name will lend to Roane County and the likelihood more industries will locate there because of the prestigious automaker’s presence.