HARLINGEN — Project Thor is a new lumber company that will hire about 14 employees.
Last night, city commissioners met in closed session for about 20 minutes before entering into agreements with El Clavo, a Brownsville-based lumber company.
The Harlingen Economic Development Corp. code-named the company Project Thor as it entered into discussions with the company that opened in Brownsville 41 years ago.
“They want to expand their presence in the Valley,” Raudel Garza, the EDC’s chief executive officer, told city commissioners.
As part of the agreements, the city will allow the company to use as much as $141,000 of its sales tax revenue over a five-year period to improve a rail spur leading into its building at 417 N. H St.
The company is projected to generate about $300,000 through its first three years in business here, EDC documents showed.
The company, which plans to open with about nine employees this summer, will hire about 14 employees over a three-year period, Garza said.
Former employees of Zarsky Lumber, which recently closed here, are seeking jobs there, Garza said.
The company also will spend about $250,000 to renovate its building in the downtown area.
“It’s a great project on several levels,” Mayor Chris Boswell said.
Boswell said the company’s renovation of its building will help revitalize the downtown area while part of its sales tax revenue will improve the rail spur.
