Anniston council to consider tax break for new Jack's restaurant
May 17—The Anniston City Council on Tuesday will consider a plan to offer up to $900,000 in tax breaks to Jack's Restaurants if the company builds a restaurant on an undeveloped site near the intersection of Golden Springs and Choccolocco roads.
"We consider it a win-win, one that will bring new jobs to the city," said Toby Bennington, the city's economic development director.
The council on Tuesday will vote on an agreement that would give Jack's a 60 percent rebate on its sales taxes at the Golden Springs site during the first 10 years a new restaurant is open. Agreements of that sort aren't uncommon for cities seeking new development, on the theory that a portion of tax on a new business is better than no sales tax at all.
"If Jack's shows up and doesn't perform, they don't get as much money," said James Hill, a lawyer representing Jack's in the agreement.
Representatives for Jack's estimated the proposed new restaurant would generate $1.8 million in sales per year. At the city's 5 percent sales tax rate, that would have Anniston paying Jack's $540,000 over the decade.
Also on the council's agenda is a "certificate of indebtedness" that would state that Anniston owes Jack's $900,000 — but Hill, citing wording in the development agreement, said the $900,000 figure is a cap, not a minimum. The rebates would end at $900,000 or 10 years, whichever comes first, he said.
The council's last big offer of tax breaks in Golden Springs went to Village at the Springs, a 41-acre, 126-unit housing development underway on Choccolocco Road, not far from the Golden Springs Road intersection. Developers have said they intend to sell homes in the $200,000 range, largely to retirees looking for a community where the cost of living is cheaper than a big metropolitan area.
When the council in 2019 first approved the project, Anniston hadn't seen a major new housing development in years. The post-pandemic housing boom has since brought new construction to other parts of Anniston, including at McClellan and near Glenndale on the city's west side, but none of them are on the scale of the Golden Springs development.
City leaders have said they expect the 126-house neighborhood to drive commercial development along Golden Springs Road. The Jack's agreement is the first concrete sign of that, though Bennington on Monday said he's unaware of any other commercial developers on the horizon for the area.
"We've had a couple of people look at our site, but nothing solid," said James Roberts, who had been trying to sell a lot just south of the proposed Jack's site. His family owned a nursery on the site that is now closed, he said.
Jack's, founded in Homewood in 1960, now has 200 restaurants across the country, according to the company's website. The company already has two locations in Anniston, one in Lenlock and the other on Quintard Avenue.
Capitol & statewide reporter Tim Lockette: 256-294-4193. On Twitter @TLockette_Star.
