Visalia approves incentives in its bid for the Nordstrom project.
The City of Visalia is competing with Fresno to win a multi-million dollar project – the Nordstrom E-Commerce and Distribution Center.
Nordstrom has identified property in both Fresno and Visalia as possible sites for their proposed warehouse.
Both Fresno and Visalia are finalists for the project.
On December 17th, Fresno’s City Council approved a 10-million dollar sales tax sharing incentive.
Visalia’s City Council held their own vote on December 22nd whether or not to give a sales tax rebate to the retailer to gain more leverage.
With A 5-0 vote, council overwhelmingly approved an almost identical package for Nordstrom, returning over 20 million in sales tax over 20 years.
Visalia Mayor Steve Nelsen has been working with Nordstrom for 6 months on the proposal.
The 110-million dollar project would mean more jobs – from 700 to 1100 people employed, possibly up to 1800, long term.
Mayor Nelsen even said if he needs to arm wrestle with the Mayor of Fresno, he’s ready to do whatever it takes to compete for the jobs.
