Olathe OKs $257M in incentives for Walmart beef facility. It’s already hiring
The Olathe City Council unanimously approved $257 million in incentives to support Walmart’s massive beef processing facility this month — checking off the last box of bringing the retailer to town.
Walmart announced that it would build its first-ever fully owned and operated case-ready beef facility in Olathe in 2023 — during which the city expressed its intent to issue the bonds. The 320,000 square foot facility found its home on 60 acres near the northwest corner of 167th Street and 169 Highways.
“The building is now complete. I’ve toured it several times, it’s amazing,” Mayor John Bacon said during the Nov. 4 City Council meeting. “This is just the final step in issuing the bonds.”
The retailer celebrated its opening this summer and shared that it hired 158 employees with more than 400 jobs actively hiring. At that time, Walmart officials said that it would create more than 600 permanent jobs. A Walmart spokesperson said that the facility is at 373 associates, with plans to continue hiring as it grows operations.
In addition to the bonds, the city agreed to a property tax abatement that will allow Walmart to pay half of its full tax rate for 10 years.
The incentives and massive facility follow Olathe’s continued efforts to bring more industrial industries to the city. In October, the City Council approved a 10-year, $310 million in industrial revenue bonds for the construction of a controversial cold storage facility, operated by Lineage Logistics.
In August, the City Council approved a request to rezone rural land to industrial in order to build six warehouse buildings, totalling over 1 million square feet of total floor area. Last year, the city also approved $252 million in industrial revenue bonds for Blue Springs Safety Storage South to build 13 warehouses as part of a new business park on 139 acres of land.
Walmart’s facility in Olathe is the first beef packaging plant owned and operated by Walmart. Part of the retailer’s goal to create an “end-to-end” supply chain, the facility eliminates third-party involvement in beef packaging, leading to lower production costs.
The facility processes Angus cuts supplied by Sustainable Beef LLC — a Nebraska-based company that sources cattle from a 250-mile radius — into case-ready beef products like steaks and roasts that will be sold in Walmart stores across the midwest.
