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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA local racing company that operates four IndyCar teams is seeking a property tax abatement to offset costs related to a $3.5 million expansion of its northwest-side headquarters.
Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Inc. is requesting the seven-year abatement for a 40,000-square-foot addition to its 79,000-square-foot facility at 7777 Woodland Drive near Interstate 465 and West 79th Street.
Ganassi constructed the building in 2001 to house two racing teams. The company since has grown to six teams—four in the IndyCar series and two running in the International Motor Sports Association, the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The city’s Metropolitan Development Commission is set to hear Ganassi’s request for the abatement March 1.
Ganassi would consider moving its local operations to its underused NASCAR garage in Concord, North Carolina, if it were unsuccessful in receiving the abatement, according to city documents.
Department of Metropolitan Development staff support the tax abatement.
As part of its request, Ganassi would retain 127 existing jobs paying an average of $36 per hour in addition to creating 25 new jobs, which also would pay an average of $36 per hour.
The $3.5 million investment would result in an increase to the local tax base of $2.2 million, DMD said.
During the seven-year abatement period, Ganassi would save $236,208 and pay $178,192 in real property taxes, in addition to the $87,387 the company already is paying annually on the property.
Ganassi’s IndyCar drivers are Max Chilton, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball.
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