City leaders donned hard hats and posed for pictures Monday at a groundbreaking ceremony for the first building constructed in the Corvallis Enterprise Zone, a photo-op they hope is the first of many.

The groundbreaking for T. Gerding Construction at the corner of Highway 99W and Airport Road was purely ceremonial — construction is well under way — but people who attended said the event was a celebration of the enterprise zone and the Airport Industrial Park.

An enterprise zone provides tax exemptions on buildings and equipment. Businesses are eligible for the tax breaks in the Corvallis Enterprise Zone if they create 10 percent more jobs within their company and offer pay at 150 percent the area’s median wage for the first three years, according to Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition economic development specialist John Sechrest.

For the fourth and fifth years, local conditions must be followed. In Corvallis, that means sustainability provisions must be met.

The T. Gerding building will be LEED-certified, possibly even at “gold.” LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Its certification ranks energy efficiency up to a “platinum” standard.

“This is exciting for us,” said Tom Gerding. “We are using every square inch of what we have right now.

“Hopefully this is a sign of our commitment to being in the community for a long, long time.”

Bob Warren, regional representative for Business Oregon, said the T. Gerding Building was the cumulation of a lot of work from the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition.

“The Corvallis Chamber really did a spectacularly good job of laying the groundwork and helping the enterprise zone become established,” he said.

Warren worked with the Chamber Coalition to recruit businesses and meet with companies.

Mysty Rusk, president of the Benton-Corvallis Chamber Coalition, said the group is in charge of marketing, processing applications and helping companies in the zone work through city and county permitting processes.

The group has  a $4,000 annual contract with the city to provide those services for the enterprise zone and a separate contract for the Airport Industrial Park.

Last year, some tension was evident between Warren and the Chamber Coalition about the best approach for recruiting businesses to the area, but Warren now has nothing but praise for the group.

“We have a good strong working relationship that continues,” he reiterated.

Now, the city and chamber are exploring what it would mean to expand the enterprise zone.

At a  Dec. 2 meeting, the Chamber Coalition received public feedback on a potential expansion.

Rusk said one concern is that the city would be subsidizing companies. She said that could be a valid consideration,  but “with this kind of incentive program, there’s no way for a corporation to come in and take over,” she said.

Another concern was that expanding the zone would compromise the original goal of promoting development in south Corvallis, the only area in the city that met enterprise zone requirements. The enterprise zone can be expanded to areas that aren’t geographically contiguous to the current area.

Corvallis Mayor Charles Tomlinson said new sites could include the Hewlett-Packard Co. campus off Highway 20, the Sunset Research Park, or both. Those properties already have infrastructure in place and would be an option to complement the build-to-suit sites in south Corvallis.

“What it’s all about is options for economic development,” Tomlinson said. “It can’t be one-size-fits-all.”

Warren echoed Tomlinson’s remarks, saying companies generally would rather be presented with an array of sites.

“It’s way better to say, ‘Do you want this side or this side?’ The choice is always a good thing,” he said.

Warren said that while the decision to expand an enterprise zone must be made at the local level, it’s a move he would support.

Aaron Edwards, economic recruiter for the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition, said he thought the T. Gerding building would spark more development.

“I think it will stand as a beacon to other businesses to show it can be done,” he said.

The next building planned for construction in the enterprise zone is for Natural Point Inc., a local company that builds image tracking technology and unique computer control devices.