The West Chester trustees recently approved a 50% tax exemption for five years.
“They are making an investment in our community and Premier Shooting is going to be right next door,” Trustee Ann Becker said. “It’s going to be like a cool kid corridor right there.”
During the exemption period, West Chester will collect about $60,775 annually in property taxes, and after the grace period expires taxes jump to $121,550. The company has negotiated school compensation agreements, according to Township Administrator Larry Burks.
Queen City Harley employs about 49 people with a total average payroll if $2.1 million. The project cost is $6.1 million, including about $4.5 million for construction, according to township officials.
“The great thing about this is that they are actually building a facility,” said Trustee Mark Welch. “You can tell that a company wants to come here and stay here when they actually build a facility, they’re not just leasing space. This is gong to be a facility which is specific to their needs and demands of their client base. That is the best kind of business we can hope for.”
Queen City owner Brett Tekavec said the dealership is hoping to break ground in early spring because the coronavirus slowed down the financing process. Construction should be about eight months. He said proceeding with the new venture during the pandemic brings some uncertainties.
“Early on yes, but the recreational market has been on fire with everything that’s going on because people are staying at home,” Tekavec said. “You know motorcycle riding, there’s no better way to have social distancing than on a motorcycle.”
He said his relocation options were limited because there is a rule Harley dealers can’t be within 10 miles of each other. There are dealerships already in Deerfield Twp. and Norwood and he needed enough land to build the dealership, for their Riding Academy and possible future expansion.
“This popped up and it’s almost 11 acres, it’s in a good location, we’ve got great neighbors next to us with Premier Shooting and great visibility on 747,” he said. “Then the connection to Union Centre, we just feel like it’s a win-win across the board.”
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