Olathe passes tax incentives for controversial, massive Lineage freezer facility
John and Beth Reinhart tossed in the towel once the Olathe City Council voted to approve a plan for a new cold storage facility a half mile away from their home.
So when they saw the City Council would be discussing tax incentives for the massive facility during its meeting on Tuesday, they weren’t sure if a protest would be worth it, Beth said.
“From my standpoint, when I saw they rezoned the property it feels like the fight on this side is done. The community doesn’t really have a leg to stand on,” Beth said before the meeting. “There’s going to be an opportunity for the public to speak but I think it’s a done deal.”
They may have been right. On Tuesday, the City Council approved Lineage Logistics’s request for a 10-year, $310 million in industrial revenue bonds for the construction of a 400,000 square foot refrigerated warehouse facility under development by Commercial Reposition Partners 17, LLC.
The Reinharts live in Nottington Creek, a rural subdivision in Olathe that’s been vocal to protest the new freezer facility. Lineage Logistics, a global cold food storage company, proposed to build 35,000 square feet of cooler space and more than 184,000 square feet of freezer space on nearly 146 acres of land on West 175th Street and Lone Elm Road.
The City Council approved the proposal in September, despite Nottington Creek residents’ opposition, citing concerns about the environmental and traffic impacts of this facility setting up shop so close to their homes. With the council’s approval, construction is set to begin in 2026 and 2027.
The newly approved incentives are the first single-series of bonds issued to cover land, building and other costs for the project.
According to the staff report, it will cost $8.2 million to acquire the land; $157 million to construct the building; $134 million for furniture, fixtures and equipment in the building; and $10.8 to cover site work and soft costs.
The development will help create 200 new jobs over the next 10 years, with starting salaries at $58,240 in the first year. The company says it will create approximately $110 million in new wages over the life of the bond.
Additionally, the council approved Commercial Reposition Partners’ request for a 10-year, $670 million in industrial revenue bonds to construct 2.2 million square feet of industrial and warehouse facilities for a business park on 145 acres at the northeast corner of 175th and Lone Elm.
Residents remain concerned
Other Nottington Creek residents showed up on Tuesday to protest giving the company the local incentives.
“We are already seeing our quality of life change and our property values,” Olathe resident Mike Hibbett told council members during public comment. “Don’t make it worse by making us shoulder the tax burden.”
Several residents remain concerned about the traffic and safety impacts the increased truck activity could present in their neighborhood, John Reinhart said.
“I think we’re disappointed in the city of Olathe and the fact they assumed to put Lineage ahead of the lived interest of its citizens,” he said.
While the Reinharts are disappointed, they thought the community did a good job researching the project and advocating for their needs. Despite the fact that a massive warehouse will be their new neighbor, the Reinharts want to stay in the home they’ve lived in for 12 years, Beth said.
“We like it out here. It’s far enough out, we enjoy that. It’s a nice community. At this point we have decided to stay,” she said. “We love it, we are very happy here, just unhappy that it looks like we are going to be surrounded by warehouses.”
