NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council agreed to issue $4 Million Industrial Revenue Bonds to a new entity called Salt City Investments LLC for a new speculative building in the city's industrial park.
"We would become the lease holder, they would become the lessee," said director of finance Angela Richard. "They would be responsible for all debt service payments and all costs associated with the project. They would then apply to the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals for a ten year tax exemption. At that point, we could then enter into a payment in lieu of tax agreement."
Brad Pryor represented the new group at Tuesday's meeting.
"Hutchinson-Reno County Chamber of Commerce CEO Debra Teufel has been very adamant that our community needs vacant industrial buildings to attract new businesses," Pryor said. "Vacant land does not generate site visits like move in ready buildings. To be more competitive, we need to have more move in ready product with 30 foot side walls. Several Kansas communities already have real estate investors building and marketing these new spec buildings across Kansas. They are at a more competitive adavantage and simply moving themselves to the top of the site selector list. We continue to finish at the bottom of the list and come up short marketing vacant land."
The building will be approximately 57,000 square feet and finished initially as a basic warehouse, with potential for expansion to 100,000 square feet if needed and rail spur access. The building will be on the southeast corner of Commerce Street and Enterprise Drive in the Kansas Enterprise Industrial Park.
"The construction will start in April and be completed late fall," Pryor said. "We believe in the growth of the community and with the ability of our chamber team, that this building will be leased in the first 12 months."
Teufel said that the time to market from when people are looking for a site to when they want to move in is so short that people aren't willing to wait for a custom built building. In the last two years of RFPs received by the chamber, 76% of those RFPs requested buildings of 50,000 square feet or greater and demanded an existing building rather than waiting for a build to suit.