The biotechnology company that wants to build a manufacturing plant in Lawrence is asking the city for property tax breaks worth millions of dollars over the next decade.

Serologicals Corp. of Atlanta on Tuesday submitted an application seeking forgiveness of 80 percent of taxes it would owe on about $26 million in property and equipment. The term of the tax break would be 10 years.

Lawrence city commissioners referred the application to Kansas University’s Policy Research Institute for an analysis.

Commissioners indicated Tuesday they would be inclined to approve a hefty abatement for the plant ” which will produce a serum-free cell culture supplement for use in the biotechnology industry ” to locate in East Hills Business Park if the analysis showed benefits to the city outweighed the cost of the tax breaks.

“I do think it’s a company that is strong in salaries and strong in investment and matches our work force,” Mayor Sue Hack said.

Commissioner David Dunfield expressed a similar view.

“On the face of it, they seem like a good match for our community,” he said.

Serologicals’ application estimates the company will spend $13.2 million on the plant’s construction and another $12.5 million on new equipment.

If such an investment had been made in 2002, the company would have faced a property tax bill of nearly $673,000. With an 80 percent tax break, that figure would have dropped by $538,400, to about $134,600.

That figure would change over the 10-year life of the abatement as the building and equipment values depreciate.

Serologicals’ final decision to build and locate in Lawrence may depend on approval of the tax break, according to the application.

An 80 percent abatement “will indicate to the company the commitment of the community and enable us to consider this site as the best location,” the company said in an application signed by vice president Harold Ingalls.

“The property taxes, in addition to the construction and site costs, are in total a major criteria in selection of a specific community,” the company said.

Earlier, Serologicals said it picked Lawrence from among 30 Midwestern cities as the potential site for the plant.

Serologicals announced earlier this month plans to build a 43,000-square-foot plant on 12.5 acres at East Hills Business Park on Kansas Highway 10. The company said it would employ 40 workers at an average annual wage of $47,000.

The $25.7 million investment in building and equipment puts the company well above the city’s $20 million threshold for considering property tax abatements of more than 50 percent. The company also could qualify for about $60,000 in state tax credits for job creation and as much as $2.8 million in tax credits for capital investment if it meets wage and training requirements.

The city’s Public Incentives Review Committee is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Jan. 9 in City Hall to decide whether to recommend approval for the abatement. The city commission will have final say at a later meeting.