Tax deal approved

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins Township trustees voted Tuesday to approve a tax agreement with Aligned Data Centers to build a data center at the old KBI/New Departure site at Perkins and Hayes avenues. Trustees Jeff Ferrell, Tim Coleman and Jim Lang all voted in favor of it. Their approval comes just weeks after the Perkins school board also voted in favor of it. Aligned Data Centers has agreed to spend up to $202 million during the initial phases of construction to build and equip a computer data center at the former bearings plant. The company will make annual payments to the township, the school district and EHOVE Career Center in lieu of taxes, also known as PILOT payments, over the course of 30 years. The tax increment financing agreement calls for 30% of each payment to be distributed to the township and the school districts, while 70% of the payments will be used to pay down costs to build and equip the center. Tax increment financing is an economic development tool public entities can use to spur redevelopment for major projects. In this deal, Aligned Data Centers will make three one-time payments at the beginning of next year. The township will receive $150,000, Perkins Schools will receive $300,000, and EHOVE will collect $25,000. This amount — a total of $475,000 — will be paid by the end of January, according to the agreement.