JEFFERSON CITY — A new state analysis of tax incentives designed to help Boeing build a new complex in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County shows a price tag topping nearly $230 million.
On Monday, a panel of state officials will consider a plan to add $6 million more to the growing pot of taxpayer dollars being dedicated to a project that will cost the aerospace giant an estimated $1.8 billion and create 500 new jobs in the region.
“Without the support and collaboration of the State of Missouri, ºüÀêÊÓƵ County and ºüÀêÊÓƵ City, the company runs the risk of not having a cost competitive proposal,†the company said in its application for the $6 million infusion from the Missouri Development Finance Board.
Boeing announced this summer it is planning the nearly $2 billion construction project at its north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County complex that would support “new aerospace programs†in what would be one of the biggest defense projects in the region’s history.
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The company wants to expand its regional footprint by a million square feet at two sites adjacent to ºüÀêÊÓƵ Lambert International Airport over the next 10 years.
The expansion depends on whether Boeing wins new contracts from the U.S. Defense Department. Boeing has said little about the potential project, which would come as the aerospace industry prepares to compete to build the next phase of U.S. fighter jets.
According to a review of the aerospace giant’s request for state aid, the Missouri Department of Economic Development said the incentives and tax breaks are needed to keep the company from being lured to Arizona, where the company added a new advanced composite fabrication center in Mesa last year.
Including the $6 million under consideration Monday, the price tag to keep the project in Missouri has grown to an estimated $235.8 million in federal, state and local tax incentives, the DED said in its review of the project.
Much of that total is coming from actions by the county, which approved tax breaks worth about $155 million in September.
The package also includes sales tax breaks, $2.5 million in federal coronavirus rescue funds and a job training grant.
In its application for the state aid, the Virginia-based company said the expansion will also create construction jobs and bolster an existing supplier network in the region.
“The investment in facilities and employment in the region is anticipated to have a net positive impact to the tax bases at the state, local and municipal levels,†the application said.
The state’s economic development agency, which is an arm of Gov. Mike Parson’s administration, is recommending the board approve the $6 million outlay.
The 12-member finance board administers a range of financing programs for businesses, local governments and state agencies.
Eight members are appointed by the governor, while three members are Parson cabinet members. The other member is Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Parson ally.
The agency said the company also intends to apply for additional state-backed incentives of more than $30 million if the project gets built.
Boeing’s ºüÀêÊÓƵ operations employ the company’s second-largest workforce after Washington state. It largely builds defense products in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region, including the F-15, F/A-18 fighter jets, the T-7A trainer, and the MQ-25 refueling drone at sites in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, St. Charles and Mascoutah.
But the Pentagon has been phasing out purchases of Boeing’s legacy fighters to focus on the next generation. Boeing is winding down the F/A-18 program, with new production ending in 2025 unless it receives more orders from the Indian Navy.