Speculative warehouses coming to Whiteland

<p>At least two speculative warehouses that are hundreds of thousands of square feet are coming to Whiteland and town officials are considering what tax breaks they might give to the developer.</p><p>Jones Development Co. of Kansas City, Missouri, is building  two speculative buildings, one at 436,000 square feet and the other at 168,000 square feet, on the east side of the town, off Whiteland Road and near the town’s Interstate 65 exit.</p><p>More speculative buildings could be built on the site later and a comprehensive plan for the land shows a building that would be more than a million square feet, Norm Gabehart, town manager said.</p><p>The land was zoned industrial from agriculture last fall to make way for the project and the 178 acre property is part of the former Maschmeyer Nursery.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>The development company is closing on the sale this week. The town is considering a 10-year property tax abatement, which is the standard abatement the town offers, Gabehart said.</p><p>The tax abatement must be approved by the town council and redevelopment commission, which are expected to make decisions on the break later this month, he said.</p><p>The abatement would be on the buildings or equipment only, not the land, Gabehart said.</p><p>The language for the tax break is general and the town is not requiring that the developer secure businesses that would promise a certain wage or number of workers, he said.</p><p>Other municipalities in the county have required developers building speculative buildings to guarantee wages and worker numbers. Those tax break contracts have helped set wage markets for the county, which has made it unnecessary for Whiteland businesses to make those types of promises, Gabehart said.</p><p>Whiteland officials also do not want to force businesses to offer a wage guarantee if the market would not support it, such as in an economic downturn, he said.</p><p>&quot;You have to be prepared locally for what the economy will do,&quot; Gabehart said.</p><p>No specific plans for the buildings have been made and no tenants have been secured, but the warehouses would be ideal for manufacturing, logistics or food production companies, he said.</p><p>Jones Development Corp., has told the town that they hope the buildings will be finished by the end of the year with the first phase of building starting later this month, Gabehart said.</p><p>The company plans to build an access road that would connect to Whiteland Road, with a plan to widen Whiteland Road at the new access road intersection. The approved buildings would sit just west of  Interstate 65.</p><p>Plans for similar speculative buildings have prompted backlash in Greenwood, but no concerns were raised regarding the plans for these buildings, Gabehart said.</p><p>Town employees and representatives knocked on the doors of residents who neighbored the property and tried to publicize what was happening, he said.</p><p>&quot;Our overall exposure on this project was pretty positive,&quot; Gabehart said.</p><p>Town officials have long projected that the property would eventually house industrial development, he said.</p><p>&quot;In essence, most knew it was coming to begin with,&quot; Gabehart said.</p><p>Only two buildings have been actually approved by the town council, but the company could ask for more in the future and they have enough land to support more buildings, he said.</p><p>A long term comprehensive plan of the land shows plans for three additional buildings than what are being built this year. One additional building is 1.3 million square feet. The other two buildings would be 436,000 square feet with the fifth building being 168,000 square feet.</p>