February 20, 2014 — An Illinois-based seafood processor and wholesaler is moving into Gloucester to operate a processing plant in the Blackburn Industrial Park — a move that is expected to bring 125 full-time positions, 100-plus seasonal positions and as much as $7.5 million in new capital investments to the site of the former Good Harbor Fillet plant.
The Mazzetta Company, a family-owned and operated company based in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, is purchasing the 65,000-square-foot site at 21-29 Great Republic Ave. and plans to invest $1.5 million in improvements to the building, another $5 million on equipment and machinery necessary for its the processing line and about $1 million on a new 8,000-square-foot tank house, according to Jim Duggan, the city’s chief administrative officer.
“This is a fantastic deal for us,” Duggan said this afternoon. “We want to show them we are totally receptive and love for them to be here. And they want to be part of Gloucester’s heritage with the fishing industry.”
According to a memo Duggan drafted to the city council, Mazzetta intends to apply to the state’s Economic Development Incentive Program that rewards companies with state and local tax incentives for full-time job growth and private investment within the commonwealth.
The EDIP program requires the business be located in an Economic Opportunity Area to receive the tax incentives. It also requires municipal support, which would come in the form of a Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, agreement with the city that would give Mazzetta approximately $17,000 in property tax abatements over five years.
Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times