Photo provided An artist’s rendition of a proposed food and beverage facility proposed to be located in Edinburgh near I-65.
A number of steps are taking place over a matter of days to bring 147 new jobs to northern Bartholomew County.
King’s Hawaiian is planning to construct a 532,000-square-foot food and beverage production facility in German Township. The new jobs will pay $29.94 an hour, according to Jason Hester, president of the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, King’s Hawaiian is known chiefly for its Hawaiian bread. However, the 73-year-old company that was founded in Hilo, Hawaii also provides sandwich buns, sauces, specialty pretzels and spices.
The company wants to build its new manufacturing facility at 11900 N. County Road 200W in German Township, just east of Indiana Premium Outlets in Edinburgh. Plans includes a 368,000-square-foot state-of-the-art bakery with an attached 78,000-square-foot cold storage building and a separate 86,000-square-foot beverage plant, according to planning department documents.
On Friday, the Bartholomew County Economic Development Commission met in executive 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, Hester said.
Upgrades include the extension of County Road 700N that has been platted, but not yet constructed, Hester said. Other public investments include water and sewer extensions, as well as upgrades on both Bear Lane and Hubler Drive, he said.
On Monday, the Bartholomew County Commissioners will hear a request to provide a portion of the county economic development income tax (CEDIT) revenue to finance part of the proposed infrastructure improvements, Hester said. They will also be asked to give a a consent resolution to a proposed tax abatement for King’s Hawaiian, he said. The commissioners hold weekly public meetings at 10 a.m. Monday in the county’s governmental office building at Third and Franklin streets.
It is unusual for a corporation like King’s Hawaiian to get this far in the process of expansion without making an official announcement, Hester said Instead, the company has used representatives of R & T Woodside, LLC. to apply for the abatement and purchase the land on their behalf. Registered as a Delaware Domestic Limited Liability company, R & T Woodside has a Los Angeles office located only five miles from King’s Hawaiian’s headquarters.
“Hopefully, as we go through the final steps, King’s Hawaiian will make their own announcement,” Hester said.
Hester said the name of the facility will be King’s Hawaiian. The earlier use of the name “Project Whiteboard”was used only to obscure the identity of the company until the King’s Hawaiian brand could no longer be withheld, he said.
The seven-member Bartholomew County Council will consider the company’s proposed tax abatements when they meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in chambers in the county’s governmental office building.
While King’s Hawaiian will be spending about $90 million for machinery and equipment, Hester said 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.
Providing additional land for potential expansion may eventually bring benefits to the community. When King’s Hawaiian decided to expand operations for the first time outside of Los Angeles, the company first opened an 111,000 square foot bakery and distribution center in Oakwood, Georgia in 2011.
But by 2018, the company’s products had become so popular that the Georgia facility was expanded, which raised the payroll from 100 workers to more than 650 employees.
Although tax abatements are frequently used for economic development, Hester says too many people continue to have the wrong idea that an abatement means a company does not pay any property taxes for several years.
Whatever was being paid on the property before the abatement will continue to be paid, he said. Only increased property taxes resulting from development are subject to a tax abatement.
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.
One concern that came up before the Board of Zoning Appeals was that King’s Hawaiian wants to expand operations in a wellfield protection area.
But with Eastern Bartholomew County Water Corp. supplying the facility, Hester doesn’t believe there will be a problem.
“Food manufacturing is one of the best operations to have in a wellfield protection area – just from a common sense standpoint,” Hester said. “King’s Hawaiian will literally be using the water in its product, so they are going to be the best stewards of their operation. With any type of food manufacturing, their standards are already much higher for safety. For King’s Hawaiian, the standards will be above and beyond what any legal requirement spells out.”
Nevertheless, the utility and current property developer are requesting that several safeguards be put in place to ensure future water integrity.
