The Plymouth Common Council took the first step Monday in paving the way for a tax abatement for an area garage door business. Council members voted to declare the site of DAC Enterprise an Economic Revitalization Area.
Owner Dennis Cripe says DAC Enterprise is an outgrowth of his other business, D.C. Garage Doors and Entry, but instead of the retail end of the industry, DAC Enterprise concentrates on wholesale, manufacturing, and distribution.
He says the business has seen a good deal of growth over the past several years, “If you figure that, just in the northern part of Indiana, $35 million worth of garage doors are going [up] within the two-hour radius, and right now, DAC Enterprise has $1.7 million in sales and there’s still a lot out there. As business continues to grow – right now, we are covering approximately a three-hour radius, but we need more room for inventory instead of setting it outside.”
To do that, the company plans to construct a 60-by-64-foot expansion onto the east side of the existing building at 400 Lake Avenue. The goal is to be able to add more inventory by this fall and winter, typically the business’s busiest time of year. Cripe says that along with the expansion, the company plans to add one or two employees.
Marshall County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Jerry Chavez says the establishment of an Economic Revitalization Area enables the city to help DAC Enterprise with its expansion plans, “As part of the policy adopted by the City of Plymouth, you can extend a tax abatement up to seven years on what we call a phase-in process, which means that 100-percent abatement applies for the first years and then it decreases down.”
Council member Jeff Houin expressed his support of the potential incentive. “I’m always happy to see growth of local business and success in our economy, and I’m happy that the city has this tool to offer, to partner with those businesses,” he said. “So congratulations, and I look forward to more of these in the future for you.”
The establishment of an Economic Revitalization Area was approved by the council unanimously.
