FedEx Granted Building Fee Abatement

The Council unanimously approved a maximum cap of $500,000 on the building fees to be paid by FedEx Ground, should they build a regional hub transfer station in our city.

FedEx Ground has received approval to build a very large shipping transfer station in Westfield, on the site of the former Aetna building. It is now negotiating with the state and the city for financial incentives to actually build it.

Building fees are calculated as a proportion of the construction costs, and could have been as high as $1.9M for FedEx. Council member David Bauer expressed concern over whether the $500,000 would cover the actual costs of doing the necessary inspections.  Other Council members said they had received assurances it would.

Mayor Drew expressed his happiness that FedEx was considering building in our city, "[It is] literally one of the finest corporations in the world."  He praised how they have worked with various governments as they considered our city "they've been extraordinarily communicative with the city and the state."