Politics & Government

Gov. Supports Windsor Dollar Tree Construction; State Loans Company $7M

"Dollar Tree's decision to invest and grow here is a positive sign that we are once again making Connecticut a competitive place to do business," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said in news release.

Leveraging company funds of $96.3 million, Dollar Tree Inc. will receive a $7 million low interest loan from the State of Connecticut to help build a one million square-foot distribution center in the Rainbow neighborhood of Windsor.

In a news release shared late Friday morning, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced the loan for the controversial local project, which includes 1 percent interest for 10-years, with potential loan forgiveness based on the number of jobs created and a training grant of up to $500,000 and is provided by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

In addition, the company is eligible for up to $20 million in Urban & Industrial Sites Reinvestment Tax Credits, according to the release.

Find out what's happening in Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“This new distribution center — with its 200 new jobs and nearly $100 million in private capital investment — could have been located in New York or Massachusetts,” Malloy in the release, adding that construction on the $104 million distribution center will commence immediately.

The company for the price of $7 million earlier this month.

Find out what's happening in Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Dollar Tree proposal has been at the forefront for many Windsor residents either passionately in support of or against the proposal and those who are part of its municipal government.

The project has _, _ and pitted residents of the Rainbow neighborhood against the _ that approved the permitting for the project and caused them to question the state's determination of _.

This phase of the project is expected to create more than 425 construction jobs over the next 12 months, according to the governor's release. Upon completion, the new facility will service the company’s stores across Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

In addition, the facility is expected to generate significant incremental tax revenues to the community, according to the release. A specific amount was not provided.

“Without the state’s guidance, Dollar Tree’s new distribution facility, the millions of dollars of investment and the 200 jobs surely would have landed in New York. Another factor was the town’s permitting process, which really facilitated the project and impressed the council," Windsor Mayor Donald S. Trinks said in the release.

“We evaluated several potential sites for this facility,” Bob Sasser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dollar Tree, in the release. “The Windsor site was our first choice because of the availability of skilled workers, accessibility to highways and the support of our efforts from Governor Malloy as well as other state and local representatives. We look forward to becoming a part of the Windsor, Connecticut community.”


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