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The Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department has rejected an application by Columbus, Ga., for a $5.5 million grant to construct a manufacturing plant that would house NCR Corp. operations. Columbus said it would lease the factory to ATM manufacturer NCR, but the manufacturer actually would end up owning the facility, which is a violation of the grant's purpose, the federal government says. The administration, which administers federal stimulus grants under President Obama's economic recovery plan, rejected the grant Aug. 12. It says the city did not submit construction of the 338,000-square-foot factory to a competitive-bidding process. "The city chose one contractor to build the factory," an administration official tells ATM&Debit News, a CardLine sister publication. The administration also rejected the plan because of the lease agreement Columbus signed with NCR, which is based in Duluth, Ga. Although the city would build the factory, NCR actually would own the plant, according to the way the lease agreement is written, the administration official says. "Money from the stimulus package is to assist public agencies and nonprofit groups, but not a private, for-profit business," the official explains. Becca Hardin, the building's project manager, said NCR has the option of purchasing the factory at the end of a 10-year lease. The rejection will not affect NCR's plans, according to company spokesperson Peter Tulupman. "NCR did not request stimulus money. Establishing a new manufacturing plant in the city of Columbus, Ga., is not dependant on stimulus funds, and NCR will continue with its plans that will create hundreds of net new U.S. jobs," Tulupman wrote in an e-mail message. The Development Authority of Columbus applied for the grant, but P. Richard Ellis, its chairman, could not be reached for comment. The city could reapply for the grant by making a number of changes, the administration official says. NCR announced in June it would open a plant to make its SelfServ line of ATMs in Columbus. The company said the plant would create 870 new manufacturing jobs.
