March 13, 2008

Gardner OKs abatement for logistics hub

The Gardner City Council has endorsed an extraordinary property tax abatement for a proposed logistics hub that could be built next to an intermodal distribution center BNSF Railway Co. is building in the city.

Property taxes on the proposed hub’s development by The Allen Group would be cut by 85 percent for 10 years. The city’s usual abatement is 50 percent for 10 years.

The Allen Group projects building as much as 12 million square feet of warehouses. Also on Wednesday, the council requested state backing of the city’s draw from the state’s transportation revolving loan fund. Cities usually guarantee these loans, but Gardner’s budget is too small to support infrastructure whose cost could exceed $60 million, excluding a new Interstate 35 interchange.