april_2018

160 161 about a 25-30 acre site. Right now, it’s very underuti- lized and part of the site is occupied by the State Department of Transportation’s regional mainte- nance facility. So, the city has done some marketing studies, as well as some physical analysis, on wheth- er or not that area would be ripe for redevelopment. The short answer is ‘Yes, it is.’There’s a lot of infill that’s occurring around that area, but the one caveat that’s holding back this area from redeveloping is the maintenance facility. So,we have been working with the state to find another location for WSDOT to move to.And the good news is that they have agreed to partner with the city to do that. So, that work is currently underway. In the next six to twelve months,we hope to be able to reach out to the oth- er property owners and begin to market that area for redevelopment. Based on our studies, and given that it’s an area where two major highways come together,what we envision is some retail develop- ment,maybe some big boxes, but also an opportu- nity for business services, personnel services,maybe some housing, and perhaps commercial office. So, we view this as a huge boon to our community as we look out five or ten years.” Lakewood’s Economic Development Manager, Becky Newton, elaborates upon some of the incen- tives that the city is ready to offer new or relocating businesses.“The City of Lakewood does not have LAKEWOOD, WASHINGTON development impact fees,” she begins.“So that’s significant for a number of different businesses. In addition,we don’t add any requirements from what the state requires for minimumwage.We are located in the Port of Tacoma Foreign Trade Zone, so that offers businesses that are doing importing and exporting, relief from those duty taxes.We also have a number of areas that qualify for NewMar- ketTax Credits.We also have targeted employment areas,where investors can come in and invest into projects in exchange for citizenship in the United States.We have areas, as well,which are attractive to government contractors and we also have, on the residential side, areas within Lakewood that offer multi-family tax exemptions,which is relief from property taxes for eight or twelve years, depending upon the makeup of the project.” “The one indirect incentive we can add monetari- ly is that we don’t have the local component of a B&O tax in Lakewood,which is essentially a gross receipts tax on businesses levied in the state on an optional basis on a local level,” says Anderson.“So, we have that advantage.” Finally, Lakewood offers what Newton calls “wrap- around services” for businesses.“We take a client from the beginning to the end and provide what- ever services theymight need,” she states.“We work