Studer Community Institute

Navy Federal incentives at a glance

November 3, 2014
/ Carlton Proctor
/ community-dashboard

Navy Federal Credit Union's blockbuster announcement Wednesday of 5,000 new jobs and a $350 million capital building project at its Heritage Oaks campus in Beulah didn't come cheap for Florida taxpayers. The Virginia-based company with $62.5 billion in assets received a total package of cash and tax abatement incentives topping $30 million, said Scott Luth, CEO of the Pensacola-based Community Economic Development Association. Here's the breakdown of the incentives: — $20 million from the Governor's Quick Action Closing Fund. The state's commitment calls for a direct cash payment to Navy Federal of $4,000 for each of the 5,000 new jobs the company said it will create beginning in 2017 as a result of its Phase 2 expansion project. Navy Federal has until 2026 to make good on the promised 5,000 new jobs. — A 10-year Economic Development Ad valorem Tax Exemption for all new capital structures built on Navy Federal's 300-acre campus as a result of the Phase 2 expansion. Luth said a dollar figure for that incentive can't be calculated by the Escambia County Property Appraiser's office until the buildings are completed and occupied. But the annual tax relief figure is expected to be in the millions, based on the size of Phase 2's four new buildings and accompanying parking garages. — $5 million from Escambia County's economic development funds. The county's contract with Navy Federal calls for a direct cash payment of $1,000 for each of the 5,000 new jobs created. — $3 million from the state's Industrial Recruitment and Expansion Fund. This is a cash distribution based on the number of jobs and average annual salary of each job, Luth said. The original source of the money comes from the $30 million Oil Spill Recovery Act, passed in 2011 by the Legislature to help the eight Panhandle counties most affected by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Despite the price tag for Navy Federal's incentives, Luth said it amounted to a fraction of the economic impact the 5,000 new jobs would bring to the region's economy. Navy Federal CEO Cutler Dawson said the financial services company will have in place a $1 billion Heritage Oak campus supporting 10,000 jobs by 2020. "Navy Federal's commitment of 5,000 new jobs and $350 million in capital improvements in its Phase 2 expansion is huge by any standard," Luth said. "Their average annual salary and benefits for these jobs is $49,000. "So, by comparison, in terms of job numbers and economic impact it's a big as any of the Nissan or Toyota plants that have located in the Southeast.”

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Navy Federal incentives at a glance

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