KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Gunmaker Smith & Wesson is on track to open its new headquarters in Maryville by the summer of next year.
Jeff Muir, the Blount County Chamber of Commerce's communications director, said construction on the new facility is still on track nearly a year after the company announced it would be relocating its historic headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts to Blount County.
Smith & Wesson has been working out of Maryville in the Ruby Tuesday office building since spring 2022.
Muir said the company is hoping to open the office and administrative side of its new headquarters by July 2023, and then the manufacturing side in the months afterward.
The company entered into an agreement with the area to participate in the "Payment-in-lieu-of-tax program." Smith & Wesson agreed to spend at least $120 million on the new property, and construction must be complete by the end of December 2023.
The Industrial Development Board of Blount County and the Cities of Alcoa and Maryville said the company would be required to create 620 new jobs at an average wage of $25.97 per hour. This would generate more than $33 million in direct income for workers in the area, according to records.
The company will be renting its facility from the local government, according to officials. They will need to pay 40% of the taxes they would theoretically owe to the government if they owned the property themselves starting in 2023.
At the end of the lease, Smith & Wesson will be able to buy the land and facility for $1, according to the agreement, basically allowing the company to take ownership of the property for free at the end of the program, where they may continue operating.