The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution to award $2.3 million in economic incentives to Finfrock, a Central Florida-based design-builder and manufacturer that will build a new facility and bring hundreds of jobs to the county.
Finfrock will receive a $1.9 million cash grant over a 10-year period and an ad valorem tax exemption up to $400,000 over the same period, according to the resolution.
In exchange, the company, referred to as Project Jacobson during negotiations, will invest $36 million to purchase 94 acres of land and construct and equip a 140,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Belle Glade. Finfrock will create 200 jobs that pay an average wage of $38,000; it must maintain those positions for at least three years.
The project will have an estimated $242 million economic impact on the area over five years.
“A county incentive is recommended based on the project’s location in Belle Glade, where the unemployment and poverty rates are high,” the resolution said.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports the median household income in Belle Glade was $24,322 in 2019, far below the state median household income of $55,660.
Finfrock is expected to break ground on the facility this week.
Business Development Board of Palm Beach County President and CEO Kelly Smallridge previously said the Finfrock facility is the largest economic development project the BDB has facilitated in Belle Glade in 30 years.
“It will be transformational due to the size of the newly constructed building, capital investment and new jobs created,” she said.
