NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Debra Teufel with the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce said that the increase in Industrial Revenue Bond authority provided to Salt City Investments LLC at a recent Hutchinson City Council meeting should help to get the first building over the finish line.
"We have a couple of tenant prospects that they are very close in final negotiation with," Teufel said. "The main thing, we've probably alluded to this is, that some of the clients that are looking at that building are in the wind energy sector, from a supply chain perspective."
The additional authority is designed to allow for some leasehold improvements on the spec building to be rolled into the initial financing for a client that might sign on the dotted line.
"That had long been the plan and the wish for the Kansas Enterprise Industrial Park years ago, when Siemens was landed," Teufel said. "The real plans in place, and in fact, I think even at the time, the incentives that the community drew up for Siemens was that there would be a concerted effort to bring supply chain here that was going to not only stick Siemens here for the future, but also some of their supply chain."
The assumption is that this is just the first of a few buildings that Salt City Investments can put up to keep product on the shelf for Hutchinson to pitch to small manufacturers. The hope is that the next building might even be able to start in 2024.
"I think it will," Teufel said. "They're already talking about that. Brad Pryor has talked about what's next for them. He's spoken those exact same words, that they want to always have product on the shelf. The investors in that project aren't in it to return a great profit."
Because there are two businesses actively competing, it's important to keep them both anonymous as much as possible until a deal is signed, so that the one that does not get the building is not otherwise negatively affected, especially if it turns out that they could wait on the second one.
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