Now that the tiremaker has announced the site of its new headquarters, which will be built on prime real estate adjacent to Nashville’s new convention center, the Country Music Hall of Fame and its namesake arena, the Nashville Metro Council will review Mayor Karl Dean’s prosed tax incentive package for Bridgestone Americas’ HQ move.
According to The Tennessean, the mayor proposed a 100% abatement of real property tax payments for 20 years, beginning in 2018, to lure Bridgestone to downtown Nashville. Additionally, the mayor proposed a $500 grant per each new Bridgestone employee in Davidson County over a seven-year period.
When Bridgestone announced the planned HQ move, it noted that it would pull together its operations in Bloomington, Ill., and Indianapolis, Ind., into the downtown Nashville headquarters. Of the 1,700 jobs at those two divisions, approximately 600 employees will move to Davidson County.
Council Attorney Jon Cooper estimated that Bridgestone could be in line for $56.3 million in incentives.
“Instead of losing Bridgestone to some other place, we’re keeping the company here and adding 600 new high-paying jobs to our economy,” Dean told the Rotary Club of Nashville in a speech last week.
Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling, Mayor’s Office Economic and Community Development Director Matt Wiltshire and Bridgestone representatives appeared before the council’s Budget and Finance Committee on Dec. 1, to brief members on the incentive deal.
The full council is set to vote Dec. 2, on two pieces of legislation involving the deal, including a key second of third votes on Dean’s proposed property tax abatement for Bridgestone, The Tennessean reported.
