TOWN OF MONTGOMERY - The Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry, maker of the iconic Oscar award statuettes, is seeking tax breaks for a building renovation from the town’s Industrial Development Agency.
Tallix has an agreement to purchase the Big Apple Circus’ property on Edmunds Lane in Walden for $2.5 million. The 31-acre property includes a 60,000-square-foot building. Judge Sean H. Lane, who is overseeing Big Apple's bankruptcy case, signed the agreement this month.
Only interior renovations are planned, according to Tallix's application for project and financial assistance filed this month. Including the purchase of the property, the project cost is $3.07 million.
The application requests three exemptions: state sales tax for $20,300; mortgage recording tax for $13,000 and property taxes for $312,504.
Current school and property taxes for the property are $47,980. The application outlined payments in lieu of taxes for 10 years, ranging from $47,980 in the first year up to $95,900 in the 10th and final year.
Tallix rents its current facility at 453 State Route 17K in Rock Tavern, and this move would help the company meet a growing international demand and anticipated growth.
Tallix, which now has 80 full-time employees, hopes to create 13 new full-time jobs in the next five years, according to the application.
No project start date was included in the application, but renovations could be complete as early as August 2017.
The application said the company requires “extremely specialized technical and space requirements,” so appropriate space is hard to find.
“Without Agency support, it is possible that the project will not advance, or will be significantly encumbered, leading to profit loss and delays in job creation, and potentially forcing Polich Tallix to seek a new facility for relocation, potentially out of state,” the application said.
Adam Demchak, executive vice president and general manager, did not respond to requests for comment.
The public hearing for the financial assistance application will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Town Hall, 110 Bracken Road.
aspadaro@th-record.com