County Executive Tom Gordon was pleased that New Castle County was able to obtain back taxes owed to it during the sale of the Fisker Plant formerly known as the General Motors Plant off of Boxwood Road.
The Fisker Property was sold to WX Delaware Real Estate Holding Company, based in Elgin, Illinois, for $18 million. WX Delaware Real Estate Holding Co. is an affiliate of Wanxiang America Corporation, China’s largest automotive parts manufacturer.
The County and the State each received $270,000 from the real estate transfer tax. Additionally, because Fisker owed more than $1 million combined in back taxes to New Castle County and the Red Clay Consolidated School District, the County also received checks totaling $1.15 million from a law firm representing Wanxiang.
New Castle County collects taxes both for itself and on behalf of the local school districts.
“Our goal and position all along was to make sure that we do not lose our priority as it related to the property held,” County Executive Tom Gordon said. “The Office of Law and the Department of Finance did a good job of ensuring Fisker’s taxes were paid and brought up to date.”
County Attorney Bernard Pepukayi and County Solicitor Darryl Parson retained Theresa Brown-Edwards of the firm Darby Brown-Edwards LLC, an attorney with expertise in representing creditors and debtors in complex, fast-paced proceedings, to ensure that the financial interests of the County and the Red Clay School District were preserved during the recent Fisker Automotive bankruptcy proceedings.
“This was a worthwhile investment that more than paid dividends for the New Castle County,” County Attorney Pepukayi said.
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