RAIDER EXPRESS AMENDMENT REQUESTED
Raider Express is staying put, but they need a little more time to fulfill their part of a tax abatement agreement with the city made at the start of 2019.
The Fort Worth City Council, at Tuesday’s work session, receive an informal report from Fort Worth Economic Developer Robert Sturns on the matter. A vote to extend their deadline is expected to be on the Dec. 17 council agenda.
Due to prolonged discussions with the Texas Department of Transportation regarding site access, the need to purchase additional land to accommodate access concerns, and discussions regarding the location of the water line extension, Raider Express has requested a revised completion deadline of Dec. 31, 2020, an additional year from the date in the original agreement.
“They have just had some delays on the project due to working on access issues with TXDot, so have asked us to move the completion deadline out a year. Nothing really major,” Sturns said.
In February, the city council authorized the execution of an abatement agreement with Raider Express for the construction of a 61,000 square foot campus to be located in the vicinity of the intersection of Highway 287 and Willow Springs Road. As part of the agreement, Raider Express was required to invest at least $13 million in real property improvements by Dec. 31 of this year.
The company, a family-owned trucking and transportation company, must also locate new taxable business personal property on the project site having a minimum taxable appraised value of at least $56.1 million by the new requested dates of Jan. 1, 2022, at least $96 million by Jan. 1, 2024, and at least $136.1 million by Jan. 1, 2026.
The company has agreed to spend or cause to be expended the greater of 25 percent or
$3.05 million of all hard construction costs for the development with Fort Worth contractors. They will also spend or cause to be spent the greater of 15 percent or $1.83 million of all hard construction costs with contractors that are Fort Worth Certified
Minority/Women Owned Business Enterprise companies (these also count as dollars spent with Fort Worth companies).
If the changes are approved, Raider Express must also provide the following minimum number of full-time jobs on the project site in each of the following adjusted years:
*At least 442 full-time jobs in 2021 and 2022.
*At least 532 full-time jobs in 2023 and 2024.
*At least 622 full-time jobs in 2025.
The company committed to fill a minimum of 30 percent of all full-time jobs with Fort Worth residents and 15 percent of all full-time jobs with Fort Worth Central City residents.
The company has agreed to spend the greater of 35 percent or $1.225 million in annual
discretionary service and supply expenses with Fort Worth companies, and the greater of 15 percent or $525,000 in annual discretionary service and supply expenses with companies that are Fort Worth Certified MWBE.
“This is a good example of a long-time Fort Worth company being retained for expansion,” District 4 Councilman Cary Moon said. “A good family that’s been in support of our schools and police officers for many years. We want to encourage this to be done.”