The company name has been added to the front wall of the CorrQuest building at 3055 Salem Ave. S.E.
Tuesday’s bike ride took me past the latest addition to Albany’s industrial base. It is the new quarters of CorrQuest Automation Inc. on Salem Avenue across from Waverly Lake.
As it happens, the company is on the agenda of the city council Wednesday night. The council is set to adopt a resolution confirming a previous decision to grant the company a five-year exemption from property taxes.
Founded in 2001, the company has been operating from an address in Milllersburg. The new plant in Albany represents an investment of more than $8 million in an “enterprise zone,” which makes it eligible for the tax exemption.
In return, the company is required to pay newly hired workers at least $73,479 in wages and benefits, or 150 percent of the average wage in Linn County last year.
The company plans to hire seven new employees, according to a memo in the council agenda.
The memo says CorrQuest specializes in making, automating and managing equipment used in plants around the world that produce corrugated cardboard.
The new Albany plant is said to have 30,000 square feet for manufacturing and assembly as well as offices. It has another 5,000 square feet to lease to smaller companies that need space to get started.
The council memo says the tax exemption, starting in 2024, will cost the city about $49,000 in forgone revenue over five years. But the city has already collected $290,645 in permit fees and systems development charges from the construction project alone.
The permit lists Albany architect Christina Larsen as the applicant and Gerding Builders as the contractor. Which explains why from the sidewalk on Salem Avenue, this looks like a handsome building indeed. (hh)
Speaking of Waverly Lake… was wondering? Didn’t the City contract with some firm from either Salem or Portland to eliminate the algae and other green build-up on that body of water. When driving past yesterday, it seemed the anti-algae scheme is not working.
Like CARA, “enterprise zones” are based on two elements – taxpayer subsidy and government central planning.
These are political acts that can be rightly described as crony capitalism and corporate welfare.
It involves a government plan to redirect existing economic activity. It involves handouts and picking winners and losers.
Why ration economic activity to a few, city-favored zones?
Why should one company in the “zone” get a handout that a firm outside the “zone” cannot receive?
A truly free market is the best means for achieving prosperity. Not schemes like CARA and enterprise zones.
So what is it that they do, or make there?
It say in the article “The memo says CorrQuest specializes in making, automating and managing equipment used in plants around the world that produce corrugated cardboard.”
So they have to spend $516K in wages and benefits for 7 employees to save $48K in taxes. What is the penalty if they decide to save $48K+ by reducing compensation instead of taking the tax savings?
See the reply to Mr. Pugh.
Puzzling to me. Property taxes in Millersburg < Albany forever. So would like to see the math supporting the Albany choice. A five year Albany tax holiday does not seem to carry
the day. Perhaps utility costs swayed the decision??
I assume that the Albany City Council can only forgive that portion of the property taxes that go to fund Albany’s provided services. The company would still be liable for their portion of the county provided services and educational services.
If I am wrong, please correct me.
The tax abatement covers all local property taxes, not just those imposed by the city.
Mr. Hartman,
Waverly lake is a mess. As I said in this forum way back on May 5th, 23. This lake needs to be dredged. Seriously, it needs to be dredged. Or the city council can ignore the problem and just let it turn into a nice green meadow in about 10 years. It will be a good place for a tent-city.
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Randall Harris says:
May 5, 2023 at 4:42 pm
DREDGE WAVERLY LAKE : Bill made the comment: “The algae wasn’t there before with the same amount of water flow. Something has changed to cause this.”
I learned to scuba in Waverly Lake around 1967. The water was deep, clear and all manner of fish were abundant. When I moved back to Albany from Los Angeles a few years ago I was shocked at how bad the lake looked. It is much too shallow in all locations according to every single fisherman I’ve spoken to.
I believe sediment has built up over the years so much that it allows the summer sun to heat the water much faster than when it had more depth. Waverly Lake needs to be dredged in order to remove 50 or 60 years of sediment and return it to it’s normal depth.
Soon it’ll start looking like East Thornton Lake. Disgusting.
The lake is not natural, so it likely is refilling with sediment. I was once told by a very old man that the lake was dug out to build up the overpass by the train station where Albany bottle company used to reside. If the city allotted funds to its dredging I would bet half the town would complain about the cost. some people just want to whine.
Waverly Lake was dredged out to help build Highway 99, and the overpass by the train station was built in 1939, so that was part of Highway 99. (Thanks, FDR.) The Freeway Lakes south of Albany and the lakes south of Costco were dug to build Interstate 5 in 1955.