Haverhill has made good on its threat to seek repayment of property tax breaks given to Brooks Brothers to locate its Southwick factory in the city.
In a legal filing Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, the city said it seeks repayment of $400,053. The money covers property tax reductions given to Southwick as part of a TIF—Tax Increment Financing—agreement in 2014, and used from 2016 to today.
“The City is entitled to adequate protection of its interest in the Property under section 363(e) of the Bankruptcy Code,” reads the filing by attorney Gregory F. Fischer of the Wilmington, Del., law firm of Cozen O’Connor.
Fischer filed the limited objection, saying, Brooks Brolers, through its subsidiary, “agreed to acquire and renovate the Southwick facility, transfer its operations, which then included 468 permanent employees, from its prior facility to the Southwick facility and hire 70 additional full-time employees by 2018.” He said the company was required to maintain the retained and newly created jobs for the entire term of the Agreement.
Southwick proposes to sell its Haverhill property off Route 97 for $14 million and the city stated its fear the buyers might not recognize the city’s tax lien.