By Dan Spalding
InkFreeNews
WARSAW – City officials did not have to look far for the occupant of its newest shell building in the expanding Technology Park along US 30.
Nextremity Solutions, which had been outsourcing its production of various licensed orthopedic products for years and headquartered in downtown Warsaw with non-descript offices, will centralize its operations and move into a new facility in the tech park in a phased-in approach beginning this summer.
An artist’s rendering of Nextremity Solutions’ future headquarters in Warsaw. Artwork provided.
The announcement came at two city meetings Monday, May 18.
The deal will eventually result in 42 new jobs in the next few years and will add an estimated $8 million in taxable property to the city tax rolls after the company settles into its home at the corner of Silveus Crossing and Polk Drive just east of Banner Medical’s facility, according to City Plan Director Jeremy Skinner.
The shell building is still under construction, but company officials said they want to start using part of the building for manufacturing sometime this year.
Shell buildings are a strategy used by developers and municipalities to attract new industry to specific sites. This marks the second shell building marketed and supported financially by the city.
The city’s first such shell building in the park is occupied by Patrick Industries, but it took more than two years to fill, according to Skinner.
The arrangement with Nextremity was sought by city officials and Kosciusko County Economic Development Corporation (KEDCo).
Details about the state’s incentive package are expected to be released Tuesday.
A memo of understanding, which gets the ball rolling, was approved unanimously by the city redevelopment commission and city council in separate meetings held Monday.
George Clemens, a member of the redevelopment commission, is a stockholder in Nextremity and abstained from voting.
The plan includes significant incentives from the city and the state.