[UPDATED 6/23 10:45 am] A massive new FedEx warehouse proposed to be built in Cedar Rapids has taken a huge step forward after the Cedar Rapids City Council approved tax incentives for the project.

According to the Gazette, the city council gave the go-ahead to a tax rebate of approximately $6.1 million over the next decade. That's a standard incentive provided by Cedar Rapids, which provides the return of half of a new company's taxes over 10 years.

The Gazette reports the new facility would operate 24 hours a day, with an estimated $20 million payroll to its approximate 434 jobs, most of them part-time. Caleb Mason, Cedar Rapids' Economic Development Analyst, says final terms on an agreement could be presented to the city council in the next couple of months.

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Another massive construction project could be starting in southwest Cedar Rapids in the near future. FedEx is hoping to build a nearly half-million square foot warehouse in the city. If it moves ahead, construction would begin this summer.

According to The Gazette, FedEx wants to build a gigantic warehouse facility at 1035 Commerce Park Drive SW. That location is south of Highway 30 and west of I-380. The building, estimated at 479,000 square foot, represents just under 11 acres. The facility would cost just under $110 million and would be used by FedEx as a sorting and distribution center for packages. It would bring with it more than 430 jobs to Cedar Rapids, 75 of them full-time.

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On Tuesday, June 22, the Cedar Rapids City Council will decide on incentives for the project. The City of Cedar Rapids itself is recommending reimbursement of half of the new taxes the city would receive, for the next decade. The Gazette says that would give back just over $6 million to FedEx over that time, while the city would keep about $10.2 million.

FedEx Facility Proposed for Cedar Rapids

In addition to financial incentives, Cedar Rapids would need to make improvements to roads in the area of the new facility and also assist FedEx in applying for a grant through the state of Iowa.

If an agreement is reached, construction on the huge new warehouse would start no later than August 1 with construction wrapping up by the end of September in 2022.

Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz told the Gazette that Fed Ex's possible addition to the city is, “very exciting, it’s a very large project--one of the largest projects in history in Cedar Rapids.”

FedEx started operations in Memphis, Tennessee in the spring of 1973 with less than 400 employees. In 2020, the company employed more than 500,000 people around the world.

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