Missouri City City Council authorized the creation of Reinvestment Zone 19 for the purpose of recruiting a new business prospect.

Reinvestment Zone 19 encompasses 6.06 acres of land located within the Park 8Ninety commercial center north of Buffalo Run Park and west of Beltway 8 and allows the city to offer a five-year tax abatement agreement to Houston-based food processing company NatureBest.

The company, which distributes produce to regional businesses, is looking to expand its operations to meet growing demands, according to city documents. NatureBest plans to move into a 62,000-square-foot space in an existing building within the Park 8Ninety center for its office, warehousing and distribution uses.

NatureBest proposed to invest approximately $6.3 million into the space and projects 115 new job opportunities will be created, said Joe Esch, Missouri City’s economic development director.

“The [existing] building itself is about $10 million,” Esch said. “We’re not providing abatement to that. We will continue to collect about $62,000 a year off of the building itself.”

The abatement means exemption from ad valorem property tax and applies only to the proposed $6.3 million improvements, according to city documents.

It is a 50 percent tax abatement, and based on its current tax rate, Missouri City will collect $18,900 in tax revenue per year during the abatement period, Esch said.

“The city will collect $94,500 throughout the five years off the new improvements,” he said. “The company will save the same amount.”