Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) is leading an incentive application to the Clifton Park IDA to retain Kitware Inc.’s 88 high-paying software development and services jobs with potential for 25 percent more jobs in the next three years, agency officials said on May 2.
The new headquarters would retain over $13.8 million in local wages, rising to over $16 million in local wages in the third year, according to Dennis Brobston, SEDC president.
He said the effort continues SEDC’s Advance Saratoga initiatives to retain jobs and to promote the area as a home base for corporate headquarters.
Kitware’s average wages are over $100,000 per year, officials said. The company has outgrown its space on Corporate Drive in Halfmoon and has other operations in North Carolina, New Mexico, Idaho and France.
“With operations across the nation and in France, providing software products and services to several federal departments and major institutional clients, Kitware literally could have moved anywhere,” said Brobston. “Thankfully, we were able to collaborate with the principal developers, Kitware leaders and the Clifton Park IDA to develop an incentive proposal to help retain their skilled jobs and high wage earners in our communities.”
If the application to the Clifton Park IDA is approved, Kitware would benefit from local property tax abatements in the form of a PILOT agreement being negotiated with the IDA. Sales tax and mortgage recording fee waivers requested would provide over $445,000 in reduced project costs. Kitware would occupy 40,000 square feet, the top two floors and a portion of the first floor, of the building as their corporate headquarters.
The overall 57,000-square-foot building is being developed at 1712 Route 9 by Firehouse Road Associates II, LLC an affiliate of Abele Limited Partnership.
“We are excited to be able to identify a great location near Exit 9 and to activate a dynamic corporate space for this successful local company,” said Ed Abele of Abele Limited Partnership. “SEDC and the CPIDA have been great to work with to make the rates more competitive for Kitware and to boost likelihood we will close this project to get it built over the next year and open for the company to occupy by summer 2018.”
The project is expected to support dozens of additional construction jobs over the course of its build-out.