Community Renewal Good Stories - Memphis

Information by State  Print version

Memphis Businesses Succeed With RC Tax Credits and Deductions

Memphis, Tennessee, RC

In 2002 Memphis received its RC designation and the accompanying millions in tax incentives for its local businesses. The city quickly committed the $12 million in 2002 CRD allocations from the State of Tennessee to Memphis RC businesses:

• Tennessee Capital and Development, LLC, received a $4.2 million CRD allocation to develop a retail center that would create approximately 150 new jobs paying $13.75 per hour.
  


• First Alliance Bank won a $1.4 million CRD allocation to build the first new bank branch to open downtown in nearly 25 years. The bank will create six new jobs that pay $20 per hour.
  

• A $4.8 million CRD allocation will help renovate the historic Hunt Phelan Home- the centerpiece of a $5.1 million mixed-use project housing a restaurant and bar on the first floor, bed and breakfast suites on the second floor, a separate ballroom (with kitchen facilities) to seat up to 350 people, a day spa, and commercial space.
  


• Another 2003 CRD allocation, valued at $3 million, went to the Uptown Center, a 14,000-square-foot, mixed-use project that will include BP, Baskin Robbins, and Subway as tenants. This site is near the new First Alliance Bank branch.
  

The city of Memphis also developed a Web site (www.cityofmemphis.org/rc) to promote and collect information on RC tax incentives. Businesses can download applications for the CRD allocation from this Web site and enter tax incentive data.

In Memphis the RC employment credit is the most utilized tax incentive. TWJ Packaging Group, a recycler of industrial bulk containers, saves up to $1,500 for each of its 8 to 10 employees who live and work in the RC. The company president estimates that the credit equals 50 to 75 cents per hour per employee-a savings he shares with his employees as salary bonuses. Another company, CCL Custom Manufacturing, employs approximately 250 people, more than 60 of whom live in the Memphis RC. As a result, the company claimed RC employment credits of more than $100,000 in 2002.

The Memphis RC is home to approximately 112,500 residents and 4,500 businesses. In partnership with the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Memphis Light, Gas, and Water Division, the RC mailed invitations to each business and hosted a full-day workshop about the tax incentives available to RC businesses.

For more information about the Memphis RC's programs, contact Renewal Community Coordinator Virginia Wilson at (901) 576-6457.