http://66.225.205.104/SO20091007.mp3
A Charlotte-based sales and marketing company is moving its headquarters and growing its workforce to 1,000 at a location 3 miles away in Lancaster County, South Carolina. WFAE's Simone Orendain reports. Red Ventures says it was running out of space and looked at sites in Charlotte, Georgia and South Carolina. In the end, Lancaster County, South Carolina with its incentive package, won out. South Carolina is giving an income tax rebate to Red Ventures for filling a thousand jobs within the next five to seven years. The company says it will invest more than $20 million in the relocation. South Carolina will also cover $200,000 in relocation expenses. In addition, the county's is offering a 50 percent rebate on property taxes over 10 years. Lancaster Economic Development President Keith Tunnell says the company has other offices around the country and overseas. "There's a possibility they could have grown their operation in Dallas. Just because they're moving from Charlotte, I don't see that as a loss. I see that as keeping a good company in the region. A lot of these jobs will probably come from Charlotte residents," he says. Mecklenburg County stands to loose out on tax revenues from Red Ventures' Charlotte property, which has an assessed value of nearly $2.6 million. The company's tax bills this year, come to about $50,000. Tunnell says Lancaster County is adding a job-training incentive that would prepare job candidates to use the company's proprietary software. He hopes community college students will take advantage of the training so that local residents will have an edge. But Tunnell says the training program is for whoever the company picks.