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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowWestford, Massachusetts-based Puma North America Inc. plans to spend at least $40 million to open a distribution center in Whitestown and hire 90 people, according to paperwork filed with Boone County.
The sports footwear and apparel company is negotiating a lease to open in a roughly 635,000-square-foot building at 3519 Perry Boulevard. The $40 million would be spent equipping the facility for Puma distribution operations.
According to a tax abatement application, the company would begin equipment installation in August.
Puma North America, a division of Germany-based Puma Group, would pay the 90 employees an average wage of about $18 per hour, plus benefits. The company expects to begin hiring in coming months.
Puma Group, which distributes its products in more than 120 countries and employs more than 13,000 people worldwide, in January announced it was building a new North America headquarters in Somerville, Massachusetts, that is expected to open in 2021. The new headquarters is part of a growth strategy that will result in a 20% increase in the company’s workforce, it said.
The Boone County Economic Development Corp. has recommended Whitestown consider a four-year personal property tax abatement for the company. In year one, taxes would be 100 percent abated, with the abatement decreasing by 25 percent each year.
The Whitestown Redevelopment Commission approved the abatement request this week. It will still need to be approved by the Whitestown Town Council.
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