rendering of the building at 185 Bob Glidden Blvd., Whiteland. A tax abatement for the property within the I-65 Park South Logistics Center at Whiteland was approved by Whiteland Town Council tentatively upon the company’s decision to locate in Whiteland. Screenshot from Core 5 website
A company is considering a location in Whiteland and the town council has approved a tax abatement contingent on that choice.
Whiteland Town Council approved a five-year personal property tax abatement Tuesday for D&H Distributing Co., an information technology and consumer electronics distributor company. The vote was unanimous among the members present.
Whiteland is on the company’s shortlist for a new distribution and logistics center. If the company chooses Whiteland, it would open in a 602,421-square-foot building at 185 Bob Glidden Blvd., Whiteland. The company aims to make a decision on where they will locate in the fourth quarter of 2024 with operations expected to start in 2026, according to the tax abatement application.
The abatement was given for the company’s tentative investment of approximately $17.8 million in logistics and distribution equipment and information technology. Before move in, the company would also invest about $8.4 million to renovate the building.
D&H Distributing would plan to create approximately 100 jobs with an estimated average wage of $23 per hour. Employees at the company also have the opportunity to opt into an employee stock option plan, or ESOP.
The building has an active 10-year real property tax abatement which was awarded to the building developer, Atlanta, Georgia-based Core5 Industrial Partners, previously. The current assessed value of the property is approximately $2.2 million for the land and $31 million for the building, according to the tax abatement application.
D&H Distributing would purchase the building if the company chooses Whiteland. If that occurs, the existing abatement would transfer to the company.
The new personal property abatement would save D&H Distributing about $507,770 over the five-year abatement period. The company would still pay $335,861 in taxes on the equipment, according to tax estimates compiled by the town.
The council voted unanimously to approve the abatement, although council member Debra Hendrickson’s “yes” vote seemed apprehensive. She took a long pause before voting and said awarding this abatement on top of the existing abatement made her vote less enthusiastic.
Council member Joe Sayler said the tax abatement was a good idea.
“This isn’t just a store-stuff-there and what not kind of operation,” he said Tuesday. “In all honesty, I’m pretty impressed with the company. I would generally be favorable to it, I’m always a bit hesitant on these but this one checks the boxes I’d be looking for.”
When considering abatement applications, the town council considers the industry type, building type, community investment, impact to existing businesses, job creation, job quality, infrastructure impact, company health, the size of the company and financial impact to the town, said Carmen Young, Whiteland’s director of administration.
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