Jan. 16—Brent Industries has received an additional $99,000 tax incentive from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency as work continues on its Middleport warehouse.
The IDA originally granted $1.4 million in incentives for the then-$12.6 million project back in May 2021, with an additional $178,000 granted in August 2023.
The company runs the online retail stores KJM Motorsports and Outdoor Furnace Supply.
Manager Kyle Brent said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, construction did not start until July 2022, with the size of the warehouse expanding from 107,000 square feet to 120,000 square feet. The increased project budget was also due to increased material prices, labor costs, and extended lead times for materials.
"We needed a little bit more time given some of the delays," Brent said.
The original IDA agreement had Brent Industries commit to hiring 12 more full-time employees on top of the 26 already employed.
Brent thinks they will end up hiring more than that, with the project being 100% complete in the coming months.