A rendering of the Heartland Produce development, courtesy of Harris Architects
Heartland Produce is starting construction of a $29 million headquarters and distribution center at a new industrial park in Kenosha. The Wisconsin produce company will be the first tenant of the Greeneway Development, a joint venture by the Forest County Potawatomi Community and Zilber Property Group.
The project will be an “anchor” for the new business park, said WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes. “With Interstate 94 running right by the site and the Kenosha Regional Airport nearby, the site is ideal for all kinds of business development,” she said.
The Greeneway Development is planned as a mixed-use project that will offer more than 1.6 million square feet of industrial space as well as more than 400 apartments and 117,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. It is expected to incorporate energy efficiency and sustainable design features throughout the 240-acre site, which used to house the Dairyland Greyhound Park.
A third-generation, family-owned business, Heartland Produce supplies fresh produce to grocery stores and food service distributors through its Organic Indeed and Fresh Indeed brands. The new project includes a 205,000-square-foot produce distribution center that will increase production to meet the growth in demand that resulted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Founded in 1989 in Elgin, Illinois, Heartland Produce moved to Kenosha in 1994 and has more than 160 employees. The new facilities are expected to add 40 full-time jobs with average pay of more than $28 per hour.
WEDC will provide Heartland Produce with up to $500,000 in state income tax credits over the next three years, contingent upon the actual number of jobs created and amount of capital invested during that period.
Dairyland Greyhound Park operated from 1990 to 2009. It was the last dog racing track in Wisconsin to close.
