The deal hinges on tax breaks Belton city leaders have offered the company but must be approved by its city council, which meets at 5:30 p.m. today at the Harris Community Center.
“It is a very exciting prospect for the community,” City Manager Sam Listi said. “This is a major industrial employer.”
The company, High Performance Ropes of America, makes steel wire ropes used in elevators, mining and industrial lifting.
The company has offered $1.2 million to purchase a 40,000-square-foot building on 5.1 acres at 1000 Kirkley Blvd. The property is located in the Belton Business Park adjacent to U.S. 190.
To make the deal work, the Belton City Council must pass a tax incentive agreement that calls for the company to receive a 100 percent tax abatement during its first five years of operation at the site.
Listi asked county commissioners Monday to agree to the same tax agreement during their next commissioners court meeting on June 30. HPRA is scheduled to close on the property on July 1, contingent upon the tax incentives, Listi said.
“We would hope that they (commissioners) would approved it,” Belton Mayor Jim Covington said. “I don’t remember a time in my 15 years in city government when the county has not agreed to go along with a city on tax abatement.”
If the deal goes through, HPRA has committed to spending $1.8 million to expand the building and make improvements. It would also spend $8.95 million on machinery and equipment, $200,000 to install electricity and $30,000 on a compressed air system, according to city documents.
The plant would have the capacity to manufacture 3,000 tons of rope per year, including rope up to 3 inches in diameter. It would employ staff members in engineering, production, quality control and logistics, according to city documents.
The building HPRA is trying to purchase is a speculative prototype constructed more than two years ago. It was designed in such a way that a company could come in and finish it to its liking, said Cynthia Hernandez, interim director of Belton Economic Development Corp.
