Photo provided An artist’s rendition of a proposed food and beverage facility proposed to be located in Edinburgh near I-65.
The Bartholomew County Council will soon consider whether to grant tax abatements to a company that is planning to invest a little under $200 million to create a new food manufacturing plant near Edinburgh.
The Bartholomew County Commissioners voted Monday to consent to real and personal property tax abatements for R & T Woodside, LLC, which submitted the request on behalf of King’s Hawaiian.
According to Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp. President Jason Hester, the request is now headed to the Bartholomew County Council, which has final say over the matter.
The council will consider the proposed tax abatements when they meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in chambers in the county’s governmental office building.
King’s Hawiian is looking to build its new manufacturing facility at 11900 N. County Road 200W in German Township, just east of Indiana Premium Outlets in Edinburgh.
Joe Leonardo, SVP, Chief Operations Officer at King’s Hawaiian, said in a previous interview that the initial plant will be King’s Hawaiian. He added that they’ve acquired enough land to do other things with the site as well — such as expanding the footprint of King’s Hawaiian or bringing another brand to the area — but these are just possibilities rather than concrete plans.
Hester told the commissioners that the company plans to invest up to $180 million for the initial project, which is expected to create 147 new jobs with an average wage of $29.94 per hour.
While King’s Hawaiian will be spending about $90 million for machinery and equipment, Hester said in a previous interview that only about $85 million will be eligible under the 10-year tax abatement request. However, the company will invest another $80 to $90 million to purchase 88 acres of land and construct the buildings. All of those improvements are eligible for tax abatement, he said.
King’s Hawaiian is asking for a standard phase-in over 10 years. If approved, the amount of property taxes on real and personal property will gradually increase every year until the abatement period ends.
Hester said that the taxes being paid on the property before the abatement will continue to be paid. Only increased property taxes resulting from development are subject to a tax abatement.
“The tax today on the property generates just under $2,200 a year,” he said. “With this tax phase-in because of the sizable investment … we expect the company will have paid $1.8 million over 10 years in real property tax, plus another $2.2 million in property tax.”
During that same time, the company is expected to save approximately $1.35 million in real property taxes and $3.4 million in personal property taxes due to the proposed abatement.
After the abatement period ends, it’s estimated that they would pay about $316,000 per year in real property taxes and $394,000 per year in personal property taxes, Hester said.
“I’m trying to find a bad side to this deal, because I’m not seeing it,” said Commissioner Tony London.
County officials are considering other incentives in addition to the abatements.
On Friday, the Bartholomew County Economic Development Commission met in closed session to discuss a possible strategy of using tax increment financing (TIF) to help fund infrastructure improvement projects. These upgrades have been requested by the company and nearby manufacturers, according to Hester.
Upgrades include the extension of County Road 700N that has been platted, but not yet constructed, he said. Other public investments include water and sewer extensions, as well as upgrades on both Bear Lane and Hubler Drive.
The commissioners are expected to hear a request at a later date to provide a portion of the county economic development income tax revenue to finance part of the proposed infrastructure improvements.
London said that the extension of 700N would serve as an entrance to the facility, and the county would participate by building this road.
“We’re still looking at numbers and everything, but the commissioners are committed to the project,” he said.
The Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals voted in August to approve R & T Woodside’s conditional use variance to build the King’s Hawaiian plant in the Wellfield Protection Overlay District, subject to conditions, and their request for a building height variance. However, the board chose to continue a request for a variance regarding the size of wall signs.
According to the planning department’s staff report, the company is proposing to build a 532,000-square-foot food and beverage production facility on the approximately 88-acre site. This includes a 368,000-square-foot manufacturing facility with an attached 78,000-square-foot cold storage building and a separate 86,000-square-foot beverage plant, according to planning department documents.
A letter of intent from Foresite Group LLC, an engineering, planning, design and consulting firm, stated that the development is intended to be completed in phases, with the first of these being “the main production facility, an approximate 368,000-square-foot plant, along with access, parking, landscaping, and utility infrastructure.”
Leonardo described the first phase as a “state of the art bakery.”
“This has been a long process. I think originally the company met with Mayor Jim Lienhoop maybe up to 2 years ago,” said Bartholomew County Commissioner Carl Lienhoop, who is a cousin to the Columbus mayor. “So they’ve been deliberate and don’t want to fault them on that, because it is a huge investment, trying to find the best place to put this new facility.”
