By EMILY SPARACINO | Personal editor
VACUUM – Hoover City Council’s approval of tax abatements for the expansion of a technology-related real estate company will bring more jobs and capital investment to the city.
On Monday, February 7, the City Council voted to grant tax relief to Lake Homes Realty LLC to relocate and expand its operations under a major office contract in Inverness.
“We are truly a technical marketing company that uses traditional real estate brokerage with our own agents, no franchises, operating nationwide and still growing,” said Glenn Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty. “We just think the opportunity here is ripe for growth. We think the jobs we create will not just bring people here, but reinvestment.
The reductions will help maintain more than 50 jobs and create nearly 300 new jobs over the next three to four years.
Additionally, the project represents nearly $1 million in new capital investment and adds to the cluster of technology companies located in Hoover along the U.S. 280 corridor.
“Their average salary would be over $52,000 a year and would include positions in management, customer service, marketing, technology, finance and other similar operations,” said Greg Knighton, director of economic development at Hoover. “Based on our impact analysis done here in the city, we believe that from the property taxes, building permit fees and indirect sales taxes spent in the city, the expansion of Lakes Homes would benefit the city over $500,000 over the next 10 years, and the property tax impact on Hoover City schools would be over $200,000 over the next 10 years.
Lake Homes provides technology development, marketing support and brokerage operations support for its agents and staff across the country.
“As the nation’s largest lake real estate company, Lake Homes Realty is proud to be based in Hoover now and into the future,” said Phillips. “Our company provides lake real estate services in 34 states and has exciting growth plans ahead. We thank the City of Hoover for their partnership and look forward to sharing more information from our future headquarters on Monday, February 21 at 10 a.m. time.
Beginning in 2016, Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato and the City Council have focused on growing the city’s tech business and job base through his economic development and planning efforts.
Hoover’s first global plan calls for a technology hub in the Meadowbrook and Inverness areas.
“I am very pleased that Lake Homes Realty is staying and growing in Hoover,” Brocato said. “This project is another example of growth in Hoover’s STEM industries. We see announcements of such growth in our city every year, and I’m excited to start 2022 with such a strong announcement. I’m also thrilled that this public/private partnership is helping a Hoover entrepreneur further grow a business and contribute more to the city’s economy.
The abatement, authorized under the Tax Incentive Reform Act of 1992, includes non-educational portions of the use of city, county and state sales and personal property taxes.
The city’s estimated value of non-educational reduced sales/use and personal property taxes is $43,411, and the total estimated value of all reductions (city, county, and state non-educational taxes) for Lake Homes is $102,645.
