With Beal Aerospace’s plans for a rocket plant facility on St. Croix in legal limbo, company officials announced Monday that they have received a development proposal from the Spaceport Florida Authority.
Beal officials said in a release that the State of Florida has submitted a proposal for the "construction of the company’s corporate headquarters and vehicle assembly plant at Cape Canaveral, rather than on St. Croix’s south shore."
Meanwhile, despite Florida’s offer, Wade Gates, Beal’s director of corporate affairs, said the company’s first choice remains St. Croix.
"We still want to be part of the St. Croix economy," Gates said. "And St. Croix is close to potential launch sites in South America and the Caribbean."
On Dec. 15, a Territorial Court judge blocked Caribbean Space Technologies, an affiliate of Texas-based Beal Aerospace, and the V.I. government from implementing a land exchange agreement that would have given the company public property in order for it to construct a rocket assembly plant and world headquarters.
The swap, which was approved by the Legislature on Oct. 5, would have given CST 14.5 acres of public land, known as Camp Arawak, in exchange for land Beal owns in Estate Whim and Grange Hill.
Although CST/Beal already owns 270 acres adjacent to Camp Arawak, company officials contend that they need the public property for a portion of the assembly plant and parking lot.
Gates said competition to attract hi-tech industry between states is fierce. He said that Beal had been negotiating with Cape Canaveral, part of the Spaceport Authority, for several months as a possible launch site.
"The new change, as it’s been rumored in the space industry media for sometime, is that the Florida Authority wanted more than launches," Gates said. "Yes, Florida has taken it upon itself to get a larger piece of our operation."
Part of CST/Beal’s St. Croix venture would include receiving tax breaks through the Industrial Development Commission. Contingent on CST/Beal investing a minimum of $57 million and hiring approximately 150 workers, the company would receive substantial tax breaks for 10 years.
The Florida package is similar, however officials familiar with the Beal proposal wouldn’t reveal details.
"We have been talking, but I can’t really comment," said Edward O’Connor, executive director of the Spaceport Authority.
Greg Moore of Enterprise Florida, a private organization that works with the State of Florida to attract investors, said the Beal package is similar to what is offered all potential businesses: tax abatements for a certain level of investment and jobs.
According to its web site, the Spaceport Authority provides financing, advocacy, technical support, business incentives, and facility/infrastructure development for space-related projects.
"Florida's governor and legislature have established an impressive array of incentive programs, including grants, tax exemptions and rebates, financing options, and other support services for new and expanding space-related businesses in" the state, the web site states.
Along with financing help, the Spaceport Authority offers prospective businesses investment support and tax benefits, which include:
Sponsoring grants of up to $2 million for transportation access needs (launch
infrastructure, roads, docks, rail, etc.) for companies bringing high-wage space jobs.
Provide off-site acreage near the Spaceport, at no cost, for appropriate manufacturing or operations facilities.
Up to 100 percent credit over 20 years for large capital investments creating at least 100 new jobs.
No sales tax for space goods, which includes rockets, payloads, fuels, components, machinery and equipment.
No tax on electricity for manufacturing, no personal income tax, no property tax on business inventories, no state-level property tax.
Low corporate income tax, Foreign Trade Zone for tax-free hardware and payload imports and transportation benefits that eliminate transport costs for items (rockets, payloads) produced out-of-state and, air, sea, highway, space access.
When asked about Beal using Florida’s offer as leverage over the impasse on St. Croix, Gates said the issue is more about the competition between jurisdictions for investment and jobs.
"There needs to be a realization that this is a competitive market place," Gates said. "Development boards across the U.S. competitively bid on and go after businesses. We’ve gotten a number of queries over the years.
"We’re going to have to look at those. But again, St. Croix is our first choice."
