Empire Foods by the numbers
200 jobs within three years to be created by new pork processing and packaging plant to be built in Mason
$15 million total investment by company Empire Foods for the plant, land and equipment
$5 million estimated annual payroll to be generated
SOURCE: city of Mason
A new meat processing plant slated for Warren County took a step closer to reality this week, with Mason City Council approving property tax incentives for the project.
Empire Foods, a food broker that works closely with The Kroger Co., plans to build a pork processing and packaging plant in Mason close to the intersection of Bethany Road and North Mason-Montgomery Road, said Mason Mayor David Nichols. About 200 jobs will be created within three years of operation, generating an estimated $5 million in annual payroll.
The land is part of the industrial business park Lakewood Commerce Center, about 20 minutes away from both Hamilton and Middletown.
City Council voted Monday to approve a 15-year property tax abatement on improvements made to the land.
Mason won the new production plant over other competing sites, Nichols said. He said the company liked the Mason property for its close proximity to Interstates 75 and 71, which gives the company access to several hundred Kroger stores. He also said the company liked doing business with the city.
“You look for a structure that’s a return on investment for the taxpayer’s money and I think that’s why Mason is growing so much,” he said.
Blue-Ash based Empire will make an approximately $15 million total investment on the plant, land and equipment, according to the city. Construction is expected to be finished by the end of next year.
In exchange, the company will reimburse Mason City School District approximately $1.67 million over the 15-year time period. Empire Foods will also help pay, along with the city and state, for an extension of Alliance Drive to the property where the plant is to be built, city officials said.
Mason expects to collect approximately $50,000 a year in income taxes as a result of the new jobs.
The road extension also opens an additional approximately 20 acres for future development in Mason, said Michele Blair, economic development director.
The project was approved last month for $5.5 million from the Ohio Enterprise Bond Fund and a $1.5 million 166 Direct Loan by the Ohio Development Financing Advisory Council. In May, the parent company Empire Packing Co. was also approved for a 50 percent, six-year Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit.
Empire is in negotiations to buy about 21 acres, a purchase that has not closed yet, according to the real estate agent representing the property sellers.
The Hamilton County company operates under several names, including Empire Marketing, Empire Foods and Empire Packing. Empire Marketing is a food brokerage founded in 1980 and has 16 regional U.S. locations. It is the broker for all perishable items under Kroger’s corporate brand, according to the company’s website.
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