Brownsburg council approves personal property abatement for 'Project Falcon,' advances taxable bond ordinance

The Town of Brownsburg Town Council on Oct. 23 approved a declaratory resolution to grant a 10-year personal property tax deduction abatement for a confidential project labeled “Project Falcon” and voted to advance an ordinance authorizing taxable economic development revenue bonds for the project to first reading.

Town staff said the project will locate a new headquarters and production facility in the Ronald Reagan Logistics Center and represents one of the town’s largest-ever private investments. “They plan to relocate 1,776 existing jobs to Brownsburg and create over 300 new jobs,” the presenter said. Staff estimated a personal property investment of about $95,000,000 and said the project’s overall investment would be about $435,000,000.

The resolution authorizing the abatement (Resolution 20 25‑21) passed after a motion from council. At the same meeting the council approved on first reading Ordinance 20 25‑19, which would allow the issuance of taxable economic development revenue bonds to finance personal property for the project.

Town presenters and legal counsel described the financing structure: the bonds would be taxable and purchased by a private investor (a private company), not the town; the town would not be responsible for bond payments, the levy, or its debt capacity. Staff said the town will pledge 75% of the project’s tax increment financing (TIF) increment back to the company to help pay debt service, with the town retaining 25% of the increment. Staff estimated the town could receive up to $60,000,000 in TIF revenues over 25 years from the parcel, while noting that the 25% share still represents a significant revenue stream for the town.

“We are not on the hook for it,” a presenter said when describing the legal protections in the documents and the contingency if the company were to fail. Legal counsel was present for questions, and a company representative attended the meeting but remained unidentified under a confidentiality agreement.

Councilors asked about the TIF split and the novelty of the bond structure for Brownsburg. One councilor and the town manager credited negotiations by town staff that led to what they described as favorable terms for the town. Legal counsel noted similar structures have been used elsewhere in the state and reiterated that the town’s ordinance sets the maximum parameters for the TIF pledge.

Members of the public praised the project during the public-comment period. “This is a pretty significant achievement by the town,” resident David Wyant said, calling the project a “great capture” for Brownsburg. Another resident, Anthony Gary, urged the council to make transparent how the town will use its 25% share of the TIF increment, calling that sum sizable and urging that officials “connect the dots” publicly.

Staff and council emphasized the project remains under the placeholder name Project Falcon because the company has not publicly notified employees of the relocation; officials said a nondisclosure agreement prevents public release of the company name at this time.

What happened: the council passed the declaratory resolution for the personal property abatement and approved the taxable-bond ordinance on first reading. Further council action will be required to adopt the bond ordinance on later readings and to finalize any bond issuance documents.

Votes and next steps: Resolution 20 25‑21 (personal property abatement) — motion made and passed. Ordinance 20 25‑19 (taxable economic development revenue bonds) — approved on first reading; additional readings and formal bond documents remain subject to future council action.