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Cinderella Inc. - A Brownfield Success
Story
September 30, 2003
Patience pays off
For nearly two years, Cinderella Inc. pursued a plan to expand their
business and stay in the city of Saginaw — and their patience has paid
off. With the assistance of Saginaw Future, Cinderella has purchased
vacant property from CSX
between Remington and Atwater,
where the company is currently constructing a 25,500 square foot
warehouse — with additional buildings and offices to come. But the
former railroad property came with a full slate of environmental issues
that needed to be addressed before Cinderella’s expansion could begin.
Saginaw Future provided
assistance to Cinderella during property negotiations with CSX, and also
guided Cinderella through the lengthy process of addressing the
environmental and geo-technical issues on the property. The site was
thoroughly investigated — including environmental assessments and soil
testing funded by both state and federal grants that Saginaw Future
helped to coordinate — and crews cleaned up the site, including removal
of various chemical byproducts discovered on the site. Due to
Cinderella’s patience and commitment, Saginaw Future was able to help
them secure brownfield tax-increment financing with a projected value of
up to $750,000 and a $100,000 Brownfield Single Business Tax credit.
Gerald Kurtz, president of
Cinderella Inc., admits that the whole process was long and complicated.
"There were times when we thought we would give up," he said. "But
Saginaw Future was there to take us through all of the steps and to help
us find a way to expand our business in Saginaw."
Cinderella’s existing facility in Saginaw will
remain in use by the company for warehousing and manufacturing.
Cinderella is a distributor of pool, spa and leisure products, with 32
full-time employees and 20 seasonal employees.
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