Here’s the latest on the $1 billion Project Cobra plan for a new York County business
A potential billion dollar deal in York County is a step closer.
York County Council has an economic incentive deal proposed for an unnamed company listed for now as Project Cobra. The company could invest $1 billion in the county, records show.
Council voted on two items Monday night related to the project. Both passed unanimously as part of council’s consent agenda, meaning there was no discussion or debate.
The first and larger item involved an incentive agreement between the county and company. Council passed the second of three votes needed to set up the incentive. A third and final vote would come with a public hearing at a later meeting. Council has its next scheduled meeting Aug. 21.
One part of the agreement would allow the company to pay a negotiated fee rather than taxes for a set period. Such agreements are fairly common in the region for large employers who look to enter or expand in a market.
The other vote council passed Monday authorizes an application for a $200,000 state economic development grant for Project Cobra. There’s no local match required from the county. The county authorized a similar application, for the same amount, for another proposal on Monday called Project Firecracker.
Last month council started the Project Cobra incentive deal vote process for what documents describe as a new data center. Submitted documents showed the company planned to invest at least $1 billion and create a dozen new full-time jobs within eight years.
The deal would require at least $900 million of investment and 10 new jobs to get the proposed tax incentives. The county would then allow the company to pay a fee instead of taxes for 40 years and would set an assessment rate below the typical rate with an adjustable millage rate.
The company would be allowed special source credits against those fee payments that would go to infrastructure costs.
Documents made public related to Monday night’s votes offer the same information. They state the company is based outside South Carolina, but don’t list a name. Investment, fee and other details remain the same from the decision last month.
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 9:57 AM.
