California-based Bocchi Laboratories’ expansion plans will add 75 full-time jobs to its facility on Smith’s Mill Road.

Kevin Lee, vice president of business development for Bocchi, said the 72,000-square-foot expansion would be a $5 million investment.

“Design is complete,” he said. “We are going for permitting at this time with the city of New Albany.”

Bocchi’s 126,000-square-foot facility is used for manufacturing private-label personal-care products, such as perfumes, body mists and body spray, Lee said. The expansion will enable the facility to begin manufacturing lotions, shampoos and hand and body creams, he said.

Lee said company officials want to begin construction for the expansion this spring and complete it by the beginning of September. The 75 jobs would be added over a two-year period.

New Albany City Council on April 4 approved a 100 percent real-property-tax abatement for a term of 10 or 15 years for Bocchi’s expansion.

Jennifer Chrysler, New Albany’s community-development director, said the incentive term would depend upon how environmentally friendly the expansion will be.

Chrysler said she was unable to determine the anticipated value of the incentive because the city doesn’t have the approved design plan. She said she was not comfortable estimating the building value until she knows the final size of the building.

According to council’s legislative report, as of Dec. 31, Bocchi reported 300 jobs and a payroll of $10.3 million at the New Albany facility.

The 75 full-time jobs created as a result of the expansion would have an additional annual payroll of $2 million, the report said.

The additional annual income-tax revenue from the new jobs would be $40,000. Per revenue-sharing agreements, $12,000 would go toward infrastructure debt, $6,000 would go to Columbus, $11,000 would go to the Johnstown-Monroe Local School District and $11,000 would go to New Albany’s general fund. Most of New Albany’s general-fund revenue comes from income-tax collections.

Bocchi opened its New Albany facility in 2015, Lee said. The New Albany International Business Park’s Personal Care and Beauty Campus and its manufacturer groups, as well as the available incentives, helped persuade the business to locate there, he said.

In 2014, City Council approved a 100 percent real-property-tax abatement for 15 years for the initial project.

By  Sarah Sole
From This Week Community News