Monsanto research facility planned for city

An international agriculture company plans to invest nearly $30 million and open a research facility in Greenwood.

Monsanto, a St. Louis-based international agriculture company that designs and develops seeds and herbicides, plans to open a research facility in the Southtech Business Park on the east side of Greenwood, according to tax break documents filed with the city.

The 140,000-square-foot facility would be used to process, package and distribute corn, soybean and cotton seeds for testing, as well as store farm and agricultural equipment, the documents said.

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Landing a big-name company such as Monsanto is key for Greenwood as it continues working to draw businesses to the city and bring in high-paying jobs, Greenwood City Council president Mike Campbell said.

“Monsanto is one of those companies everyone has heard of,” he said. “It is good for Greenwood having a company like that. It provides good paying jobs and long-term jobs that will benefit our city and citizens.”

The facility will employ six to 10 people with a salary range of $60,000 to $90,000. An additional 70 temporary workers will be employed when the facility opens, though that number will drop to 20 by 2020, the documents said.

Monsanto is requesting a 10-year, $1.6 million tax break on $28.7 million of research, manufacturing and information technology equipment. The company would pay $923,000 in personal property taxes on the equipment during that time period. The company will pay no property taxes in the first year of the break, and will gradually shift to paying the full taxes after 10 years, the documents aid.

The tax break is necessary in order to make the Greenwood site financially comparable with other locations, the documents said. The incentive would need to be approved by the city council and the Greenwood Redevelopment Commission.

Monsanto will be leasing a building that is planned to be developed by Becknell Industrial, a Carmel-based real estate firm, Campbell said.

Last month, Becknell announced plans to construct a 140,000-square-foot building for a then-undisclosed tenant in the Southtech Business Park on Graham Road. The redevelopment commission approved a 10-year, $1.4 million property tax break for the $8.7 million building, and the city council will also need to give its approval.

The facility will be built at the northeast corner of Graham Road and Southtech Drive.

Construction on the building would begin in August, according to Becknell. Operations are planned to start early in 2018, and equipment will continue to be moved into the building through the rest of 2018 and 2019, according to the paperwork filed with the city.

Bringing in Monsanto will help Johnson County continue to diversify its workforce, Johnson County Development Corp. {span class=”heading”}interim director Dana Monson said.{/span}

“Our county is diverse in different types of manufacturing, healthcare and logistics,” she said. “Adding to that with the agriculture business is a good step for the county to continue that diversity.”

{span class=”heading”}Bringing in quality, skilled jobs is always the goal of development, and the positions that will come along with the Monsanto facility fit that need, Monson said.{/span}

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Monsanto plans to open a research facility in the Southtech Business Park in Greenwood. Here are some details about the plan:

Size: 140,000 square feet

What’s it for: processing, packaging and distributing seeds for testing

Employees: 30

Building cost: $8.7 million

Tax break: $1.4 million

Equipment cost: $28.7 million

Tax break: $1.6 million

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