Published: May 21, 2009 02:02 am      

Council, Sherwin-Williams reach agreement

EFFINGHAM — n an effort to keep a large Effingham employer happy and in the city, Effingham city commissioners have agreed to pay a portion of the company’s real estate taxes for the next seven years.

The agreement will result in renovations and expansion of the Sherwin-Williams facility off Wabash Avenue.

Commissioners agreed Tuesday to pay Sherwin-Williams’ real estate taxes for two years and 50 percent of the company’s real estate taxes for the following seven years. In exchange, Sherwin-Williams agreed to complete $3.3 million in repairs and expansions to its facility at 711 W. Wabash Ave., according to Economic Development Director Todd Hull.

Funds used by the city to keep its end of the deal will come from the South Central Industrial Tax Increment Financing District.

“It’s the first part of a two-part process. This is the incentive program that we offering Sherwin-Williams to remain in Effingham other than going out of state,” Hull said.

Mike Conway, director of corporate communications at Sherwin-Williams, said the company will stay in Effingham and is in the process of negotiating terms of the building lease before renovations can begin.

“We’ve been there for more than 20 years. There’s still some negotiations to renew and extend the lease. There’s just a number of different pieces of the pie, but all the bases are coming together fine,” he said.

The agreement states renovation will begin by Dec. 31 and be completed by June 30, 2012. Sherwin-Williams is planning a number of renovations, including resurfacing several parking lots, building four manager offices and adding two trailer maintenance bays.

Angie Faller can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or angie.faller@

effinghamdailynews.com.