The County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency board on Tuesday approved Topgolf’s request for financial assistance.
In his announcement, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello asserted that “Topgolf’s decision to build here is a signal to other high-profile businesses that we are a prime destination for investment” and stated his belief that “PILOT agreements have been instrumental in (economic development) successes, providing the necessary incentives for businesses to choose Monroe County as their base of operations. The tax incentives we provide today will be recouped manifold through increased property values, higher sales tax revenues, and a more robust job market.”
He also noted that the vacant site at CityGate has been difficult to develop.
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In a related action, COMIDA also approved an incentive package for DelMonte Hotels to build a hotel complex at CityGate with a total of 191 rooms (adjacent to REI). A total of 115 rooms will be branded AC Hotels by Marriott and target solo and business travelers. A second facility—branded “The Element”—will be an extended-stay facility.
While nearly a footnote in the county executive’s press release, the incentives offered to DelMonte are significantly larger than those awarded to Topgolf. The DelMonte PILOT agreement is 19 years versus 10 years for Topgolf and awards a property tax abatement worth nearly $7 million in addition to sales and mortgage recording tax abatements totaling $1.9 million.
While Topgolf is a unique addition to recreational opportunities in the community and will likely bring outside money to the community, new lodging serves individuals who have been drawn to the community for some other reason.
Read: Topgolf: The complicated world of economic impact analysis
Kent Gardner is Rochester Beacon opinion editor. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].
COMIDA provides a great service to the community. However, I believe they are a little loose in their research and follow-up. As noted by Beacon and other sources, TopGolf consistently overstates, sales and employment estimates. Will the county monitor whether any of those estimates come to fruition?
As for the DelMonte project, the county seems to be quite generous at the expense of people who actually pay taxes and in reality fund these projects. $8.9 million is lot of money we could use for other projects