Williams-Sonoma will operate a distribution center from a 1.1-million-square-foot building in the Braselton Commerce Center, thanks in part to tax abatements on the $70 million project.
The Jackson County Industrial Development Authority voted last Friday to begin the process of issuing two sets of bonds for the project. A $58 million bond issue will cover the real property, and a $12 million bond will finance the personal property.
The company has not officially announced its location in Jackson County, but it has advertised a job fair to help the company find some 250 employees. The financing deal will include a 10-year abatement on all property taxes except school taxes. In the first year, the company will get a 65-percent abatement, and that number will fall by five percent a year for 10 years before being phased out.
“This way, we get more money earlier,” pointed out IDA chairman Scott Martin.
Attorney Daniel Haygood said the company will pay a fixed amount “based on the millage rate as of the day we close.”
The two bonds were required because the real property is under one corporate ownership and the personal property is owned by a different entity.
The company has a 10-year lease on the building, which is located between Hwy. 124 and Interstate 85 in Braselton. The IDA will receive $100,000 in fees for issuing the bonds.
“Keep in mind that that money is used for economic development in Jackson County,” Haygood observed.
Williams-Sonoma is a consumer retail company with headquarters in San Francisco that sells kitchenwares and home furnishings. It was founded in 1956 in Sonoma, Calif.
Recruiting job fairs are set for Wednesday, Feb. 24, from 3-7 p.m. and Thursday, Feb, 25, from 8 a.m.-1 p.m., at Higher Grounds Coffee House, 6700 Hwy. 53, Braselton. Positions are team leads, warehouse administrators, warehouse clerks, forklift drivers and general warehouse. To apply online, go to http://wssupplychain.applicantstack.com/x/detail/a2xw2edhn24y
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