Jackson trustees recommend tax abatement for FedEx facility

NORTH JACKSON — The desire of a major distribution company to expand its operations received a recent boost from township officials.

Jackson Township trustees this week recommended giving FedEx a nine-year, 60 percent tax abatement as the company plans to buy property on Bailey Road to build an additional facility to handle anticipated growth.

Thomas Presby and Walter Goode of the Regional Chamber told trustees that FedEx wants to add another building to complement its 43,000-square-foot facility in the Youngstown Commerce Park on Bailey Road.

The next step is for Mahoning County commissioners to give the green light, which could happen in early September, noted Presby, the Chamber’s manager of business assistance projects.

The company intends to buy roughly 10 acres near Bailey Road and Interstate 76 from a private developer, they said, adding that the abatement would be just for the building.

If everything is approved, the project will allow FedEx to nearly double its facility’s size. Construction could get under way in October and be wrapped up by next August, predicted Goode, the agency’s director of economic development.

In recent years, there has been an “explosion” of growth in distribution companies locating to the corridor, which also includes Interstate 80, Goode noted. They have been successful in the area largely because of freeway accessibility and little congestion, he continued, adding that FedEx should also have plenty of land for future expansions.