Developer introduces proposed spec industrial project, asks council for 10‑year tax abatement

The Greenwood Common Council received a formal introduction of a proposed Thompson Thrift industrial development and a request for a 10‑year real property tax abatement.

Alexis Cowder, director of client services with KSF Location Advisors, presented the Thompson Thrift project and said the developer is seeking a property tax abatement for two speculative industrial buildings at the northeast quadrant of Interstate 65 and Main Street. Cowder said total estimated real estate investment would be about $22,500,000 and that the site currently produces roughly $5,000 in annual property tax from existing structures.

“Over the course of 10 years, that abates real property taxes roughly 50%,” Cowder said, describing typical abatement mechanics and noting the applicant’s estimate of property tax payments over the abatement term. Cowder said the project would add ready‑to‑occupy industrial space in a market with limited availability for buildings under roughly 225,000 square feet.

Andrew Enlil, identified in the meeting as vice president of industrial development with Thompson Thrift, said Thompson Thrift has experience developing similar smaller speculative industrial projects and cited an Arizona example with three buildings of about 78,000–90,000 square feet. He said typical markets for this product include light manufacturing, assembly and other advanced industrial users; he noted the project is speculative and there were no tenants under contract at the time of the introduction.

Councilmembers asked questions about site access and learned the project’s vehicular access would be routed to Cheney Avenue (referred to in the meeting as the road at the rear of the site) rather than Main Street; staff and the developer said they had coordinated with city staff and that the project would not propose direct access onto Main Street.

Nut Graf: Thompson Thrift formally introduced a two‑building speculative industrial proposal and requested council support for a 10‑year property tax abatement. The project would create ready‑to‑market small‑scale industrial space in a tight market; the developer cited roughly $22.5 million in estimated improvements and described a plan for rear access off Cheney Avenue. The council received the introduction; the transcript shows this was an introduction and no final abatement approval vote was recorded in the provided segment.

Details and fiscal note: Cowder said the existing property produces about $5,000 a year in property tax and estimated a combined figure of “just a little over $2,000,000” in property taxes paid and abated over the abatement term (the presentation wording was condensed in the transcript). Cowder and Enlil emphasized that abatement benefits typically flow to occupiers and that the developer would market the smaller industrial product to users seeking quick occupancy.

Ending: Councilmembers took no final action on the abatement in this introduction. Staff will bring the formal abatement and public‑hearing materials back to the council for consideration in a future meeting if the applicant pursues the request.