Cooper Tire breaks ground on massive Whiteland warehouse

Huddled beneath a tent while rain pummeled nearly 1 million square feet of slab, a local tire and rubber company celebrated construction of a massive new facility in Whiteland.

Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., a Findlay, Ohio-based tire company, is relocating its distribution center about 8 miles northwest to Whiteland from Franklin, where it has outgrown the 807,042 square-foot space it occupies at 500 Bartram Parkway. The new 996,930 square-foot facility, at 225 E. Whiteland Road, will give the company more space to store goods and park trailers, and will cement it as the largest warehouse in Johnson County to date, officials said. 

Company and town officials on Tuesday commemorated the start of construction. Despite the rain, officials representing Cooper, developer Mohr Capital and the Town of Whiteland crowded under a tent for the small celebration.

Christian Maslowski, president and CEO of Aspire Economic Development and Chamber Alliance in Johnson County, welcomed the small crowd with warm remarks about Whiteland’s growth. He said he was thrilled to keep a company like Cooper local, and offered congratulations to the Town of Whiteland.

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"Whiteland is growing, and it’s open for business," Maslowski said. 

Bob Mohr with Mohr Capital praised the town for its openness to work with the company and Cooper Tire to move the facility and keep it in the county, he said.

"(We heard) nothing but good things about this area, from the Cooper folks that wanted to stay right here, whether it be the labor or the logistics of getting in and out pretty quickly," Mohr said. "We think it’s going to be a great facility."

Michael Calbaro, executive director of North America Supply Chain at Cooper Tire, also thanked Whiteland officials for their "phenomenal" support in the move.

"We can’t wait to become a contributing partner in this community," Calbaro said. 

The Whiteland Town Council in May approved a 10-year real property tax break for the company to relocate to Whiteland. Mohr plans to invest $40 million in the building — $4.7 million to buy the property and $10 million to install logistics equipment, such as shelving and picking equipment, at the site, according to its tax abatement application on file with the town. The facility houses rows and rows of tires for distribution around the country.

Tax abatements allow a company’s property taxes to be phased in during a period of time, typically five, seven or 10 years, as an incentive to add machinery or expand a building and create new jobs.

In this case, 49.5% of the taxes will be abated over the course of 10 years, totaling $5.3 million. The town will collect $5.4 million in new property tax dollars, compared to the $862,680 that would be collected during the same period on the 123-acre vacant lot, town documents said.

Norm Gabehart, Whiteland town manager, said the town strives to be a community of opportunity, and Cooper Tire’s relocation solidifies that.

"This is, to my knowledge, the largest building that’s been constructed in Johnson County thus far," Gabehart said. "We have an obligation to our successors, and with companies like Cooper Tire, we’ve validated our succession."

The Whiteland warehouse, which gained regional attention due to its size and scope, is expected to be up and running as early as February 2021, Gabehart said.