Olathe city council members heard a staff report on a proposed 320,000 beef processing plant Tuesday, March 7. They took no action and made no comments.

Developers want the city to annex 60 acres of a 138 acre site near the northwest corner of 167th Street and 169 Highway. They also want the city to provide tax breaks and bond financing. The land is currently outside city limits.

1918, LLC, a subsidiary of an unnamed company that operates “in several strategic merchandise units, including merchandise and grocery,” is seeking $257 million in industrial revenue bonds and a 10year, 50 percent property tax abatement.

The $257 million in IRBs would also cover the costs of land, furniture, fixtures and equipment.

The company said they will create about 667 jobs for an average annual salary of $40,617 by the tenth year. $198.4 million in new wages over 10 years is proposed and the city would receive $690,000 in annual property tax revenue. Olathe city staff said the repayment on the investment would be 4.4 years.

Per the company’s project application, the plant would not kill cows at the site but would process and pack sub-primal cuts of beef into retail-ready cuts and products.

“Animals are to be raised and processed in another state,” they said.

The south Olathe plant would take over for production for Choice Beef cuts that is in most company stores. They are expected to use 7.3 million gallons of water per month and produce 2.7 million gallons of sewage.

The application refers to it as “Project Sandhills”, a “state-of-theart, high-volume, case ready beef production facility.”