Committee recommends approval of incentives for Jamestown business

Masaki Ova, The Jamestown Sun, N.D.
·3 min read

Jul. 20—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Finance and Legal Committee unanimously recommended approving applications for Renaissance Zone incentives for BJM Properties LLC and Premium Property Management LLC at 220 First Ave. South.

The Renaissance Zone incentives for BJM Properties include five-year 100% property and state income tax exemptions pending approval by the North Dakota Department of Commerce's Division of Community Services. The Renaissance Zone incentives for Premium Property Management include a five-year 100% state income tax exemption pending approval by the Division of Community Services.

"I'm happy to see that we've got a Renaissance Zone project," Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said at the meeting on Tuesday, July 19. "We haven't seen one for a long time."

City Assessor Jamison Veil said his office administers the property tax exemption and the Jamestown City Council's recommendation if approved would be to the Division of Community Services for the state income tax exemption.

Veil said the primary purpose of the Renaissance Zone is to essentially expand the remaining effective life of a building through investment.

"On the commercial rehab side of things in order to receive these benefits they have to make at least a 50% investment of its current market value, ensure that all exterior conditions that may be detrimental are fixed so as to not be dilapidated ... and ultimately as mentioned, expand the value of the building for many more years rather than going into disvalue," he said.

He said an existing business downtown relocating into the building could potentially encourage others to locate in the downtown area.

"They will increase the number of businesses within downtown and potentially some residential living quarters above in the downtown," he said. "Throughout the construction remodel phase, there are going to be some jobs that will be had."

The building at 220 First Ave. S is expected to be purchased Friday, July 29, said Tim Perkins, owner of Premium Property Management and BJM Properties.

"Basically trying to meet our growing demands of our office staff," he said. "We manage apartment units, single-family houses, storage units."

He said he has three full-time employees, including himself, and one part-time employee and could potentially add another.

The Jamestown Building, Planning & Zoning Committee unanimously recommended approval of the future land use plan amendment for lots 4, 5 and 6 of Country Side Estates from vacant land to business park light industrial. The property is located at 1909, 1913 and 2007 16th St. SW.

Tom Blackmore, zoning administrator, said the city of Jamestown received an application for a zone change and the proposed land use did not fit the city's future land use plan.

"With that it requires a future land use map amendment," he said.

He said Midmach is looking to expand its current facility by about 24,000 square feet. He said Midmach might later add two buildings.

In other business, the Jamestown Finance and Legal Committee unanimously recommended approving:

* a request from the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. for a PACE interest buydown up to $217,000 and $70,680 in North Dakota New Jobs Training Program funding for Shocker Hitch LLC. For the PACE interest buydown, the city of Jamestown's share will be more than $173,000; the county's share is over $43,000. For the North Dakota New Jobs Training Program funding, the city's share will be more than $56,000 and the county's share over $14,000. Shocker Hitch manufactures cushion and airbag-towing hitches for pickups and bumper-pull and gooseneck trailers and plans to move into the existing Infinity Building Services building.