Norristown council has publicly supported and approved a
Fort Washington developer’s request for a 10-year tax abatement on a proposed
Norristown apartment building.
A majority of council approved a letter Nov. 5 asking the
Montgomery County commissioners to also support the LERTA tax abatement for a
$25 million, 157-unit apartment building slated for an open parcel at 900 Sandy
Street. At the same meeting, members of Laborers’ International Union of North
America, Local 135 lobbied council to overturn the LERTA designation. Officials
of the 800-member union wanted restrictions on the tax abatement to require
hiring of Norristown workers and members of the union local.
Norristown Councilman Marlon Millner did not vote for the
council letter sent to the Montgomery County commissioners even though he voted
for the tax abatement and wants the commissioners to approve it. In a Nov. 19
email to the commissioners, Millner argued for conditions requiring Westrum to
hire local workers and members of Local 135.
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“Local hiring and model contractor goals are both
appropriate criteria, or conditions, for approving a LERTA in this instance,”
Millner said. “More than 200 people in Norristown are members or Laborers Local
135, which is headquartered in Norristown, and many serve in other building
trade unions. I support unions, and I support them on public and private
projects, especially when we are going to give a tax break.”
“Your body has the power to send a message that
development must be good for workers and developers, for the wealthy builders
and working class laborers,” Millner said in the email. “Conditions on local
hiring and model contracting would ensure our county seat would not experience
the problems it has seen famously with 770 Sandy Street and or even One
Montgomery Plaza. My suggested conditions would also ensure some local
participation from laborer to skilled tradesmen and tradeswoman through the
construction of the project.”
At the Nov. 5 council meeting, council member Linda
Christian said, “I have concerns. I support the LERTA abatement program. We
should ask the county to tell the developers to work with Local 135. If we
acted on the letter of support, is that really stating our desire that the
bodies work together? It is worthwhile to make that statement.”
The Nov. 18 letter from Council President William
Caldwell to the Montgomery County Commissioners asked for the “commission’s
support in approving a LERTA designation for the property at 900 Sandy Street.
On Nov. 12, municipal staff convened a meeting between Westrum Development,
local organized labor from Local 135 and the Montgomery County Building Trades
(MCBT).”
Caldwell said, “Although there was no satisfactory
outcome of the meeting, it was important that the dialogue occur. As of this correspondence,
we are not yet aware of the results of the subcontractor solicitations
regarding the project.”
Caldwell pointed out that the $25 million building would
generate “12 times the real estate tax and revenue ratable income” for the
three taxing authorities. The 3.5-acre parcel of raw land generates $17,414 in
tax revenue currently for Norristown, the school district and Montgomery
County.
Amended site plans for the “Luxor at Sandy Street”
project were approved by council on Oct. 21. Council previously designated the
parcel a “deteriorated area,” exempting the Westrum Development Company from
first-year taxes of $418,000 and a total of $2.16 million in taxes over the
10-year tax-abatement period under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance
Act (LERTA). The Norristown Area School Board has already approved the tax
abatement. All three taxing authorities must approve the tax abatement for it
to take effect.
Source: Times
Herald
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