The investors only plan to invest $116,000. But they want the City to pay $150,000.
What the City of Greensboro is essentially trying to do is steal jobs away from our next door neighbor, Rockingham County, by bribing Gerbing’s Heated Clothing to move offices from the less expensive Stoneville, North Carolina to the most expensive real estate in the Piedmont Triad, Downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. The people who will be filling those jobs already work for Gerbings in Stoneville and will most likely be commuters. This is not more new jobs for the people already living in Greensboro. If traffic picks up along Battleground Avenue during your daily commute this is probably the reason.
Of course, none of their clothing will be made in downtown Greensboro. Gerbing’s gloves are made in Pakistan, and pant liners, jacket liners, and vest liners in Stoneville, North Carolina. Other items are still made in China.
A little Gerbing history lesson:
"The company was founded near Seattle in the mid 1970′s, but moved production to Stoneville three years ago. They found a community that welcomed new jobs, and a workers who knew how to create clothing that combined style and technology…"
Here's some more history about Gerbing:
"The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners approved a $25,600 incentives package for Gerbing’s Heated Clothing Inc. Monday, according to Godanriver.com.
The corporation expects to bring 158 full-time positions to Stonesville by Dec. 31, 2015, according to the website."
Washington State to China to Stoneville and now to Greensboro. In other words Gerbing has an established history of taking the money and running. And Zack Matheny thinks this is somehow a good deal for Greensboro to give them money? This deal won't even raise the tax value on the building they want to rent.
Sam Simpson, of Shulman, Simpson and Beard is the broker and may make as much as 10% of the $150,000 as a commission on the deal just as Skip Alston did on the Phillips Avenue Bessemer Shopping Center nightmare.
Remember John Lomax. He's involved in this deal as well. I'm told he owns the downtown property.
Sam Simpson gets 10 -15% of the monthly rent off Gerbing's lease for as long as Gerbing stays.
Zack Matheny pushed this effort past the economic development committee. Now you know why.
Update: It also appears there is to be a lowering of standards for Urban Development Investment Guidelines for this one deal... more as I figure it out.
