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Rationale for City Assistance <br />University Tees intends to lease additional space within the Omni (Screw Factory) Building at 13000 Athens <br />Avenue with the intent of expanding its headquarters. The firm currently employs 65 people at the Lakewood <br />location (65 Administration, with an annual estimated payroll of $2.1 million. <br />Currently, 65 University Tees employees are office /administration employees with a total payroll of $2.1 <br />million. University Tees is planning for future growth and intends to double their total office space by 2021, <br />while expanding the office workforce to 190. The 2017 expansion is the first step in a multi -year growth plan. <br />The city's financial assistance is strictly for long term building and site improvements and is tied to job creation <br />and retention. University Tees is an innovative employer which has attracted a young and diverse workforce to <br />Lakewood. They are an anchor employer in the Birdtown Neighborhood and Lakewood. In 2015, University <br />Tees and its subsidiary 717 Inc. combined to be the 21't largest income tax contributor in the City with over <br />$52,000 of income tax withholdings. Assisting the growth -in -place of this anchor employer is an effective <br />strategy to directly impact the further long term stability of the neighborhood and Lakewood as a whole. <br />Additionally, by providing financial assistance to make building upgrades, the additional portions of the <br />property become viable as an office use, which is considered one of the highest and best uses for this <br />property. <br />Projected 4 <br />Page 19 of 22 <br />