RedMed seeks 3-year personal property tax abatement for Greenwood distribution center, proposes 136 jobs

Aspire Johnson County and medical device distributor RedMed presented Project Tower to the Greenwood Common Council on Monday, Aug. 18, seeking a three-year personal property tax abatement phased over three years for $22,800,000 in personal-property investment.

Amanda Rebedu of Aspire Johnson County told the council Project Tower first came to the organization in January and is interested in occupying a former industrial building in Greenwood. Rebedu said the company expects to invest about $22.8 million in personal property and to employ about 136 people with an average wage of $31.37.

Jessica Bowman, program director for RedMed, described the company as a medical-device and digital-health firm that operates major North American distribution centers in the Atlanta and Moreno Valley, Calif., areas. She said RedMed's Atlanta facility is the largest in the company's North American network, and explained the Greenwood location would improve network resilience, port redundancy and eastern-region service. Bowman said RedMed projects improvements including increasing two-day transit performance from 75% to 90% and estimated "$3,000,000 in annual labor productivity gains and $35,000,000 in freight." Those figures were presented by RedMed representatives at the Aug. 18 meeting.

Rebedu said RedMed requests a three-year personal property tax abatement phased in across those years. The presenters gave a timeline for project approvals and build-out: they said site selection is in Phase 2 and that they are targeting a physical-year 2026 second-quarter start for build-out with a goal of completing construction by December 2026. Bowman also said the company will begin recruiting management-level positions in June as part of a broader hiring timeline.

A council member asked whether the company planned to build a new facility or occupy an existing one; Bowman replied the building in question is already standing. The proposal was introduced to the council; Rebedu said the council's next meeting (described at the meeting as the Wednesday after Labor Day) would be the first reading and first vote, with a final vote at the subsequent meeting.

No final council vote on the tax abatement was taken at the Aug. 18 meeting. Council members did not debate terms at length during the introduction; the presenters answered one question about the building's status and summarized economic and operational reasons for selecting Greenwood.