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$300M campus and a unique tax break bringing 440 jobs to Knox County: Meet Greenheck Group

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Greenheck Group just got a green light on its request to freeze property taxes on its massive new Knox County campus at Midway Business Park.

The Knox County Industrial Development Board on May 14 approved a 10-year, $11.5 million payment in lieu of taxes program for the Wisconsin-based HVAC company.

This PILOT program isn’t like other tax incentives the county has approved. Because of the grand scale of Greenheck’s plans – $300 million investment, eight new buildings and 440 jobs added by 2029 – the board went with a phased approach.

Each new building on the campus will get its own 10-year PILOT through 2029 under the program approved by the board. That means if a building is completed in the final year, for example, the PILOT program would extend to 2039.

What does payment in lieu of taxes mean in Knox County?

Developers seeking a PILOT typically transfer the property to the Industrial Development Board, which accepts payment equal to the amount of the current tax value over the course of a PILOT’s duration.

In this case, we’re talking about property at Midway Business Park, which was completed by the Development Corporation of Knox County in 2021.

Knox County owns the land where Greenheck is building its campus. The company will essentially rent the land at roughly half the market value by paying $10 million in five annual installments to eventually own the property when the PILOT is complete.

Phased development to create historical number of Knox County jobs

The Industrial Development Board will reevaluate the PILOT program in 2029 to see if Greenheck met the benchmarks of its first phase. If the company makes additional commitments to adding jobs and infrastructure, the PILOT could be extended to the maximum 15 years.

The phased approached was approved by the board to avoid creating a separate PILOT program each time the company looks to grow its campus in one of the largest job-creation projects in county history.

Greenheck plans to begin operations in 2026 with 68 employees.

At the board meeting, Greenheck representatives said the company’s culture has inspired loyalty, with more than 700 of its employees having spent at least 25 years with the company.

What is Greenheck building at Midway Business Park?

The Greenheck campus on Thorngrove Pike in east Knox County will include manufacturing, office, warehouse and training facilities. The company’s total investment would be more than $300 million.

Four manufacturing facilities and three professional facilities will be constructed in phase one of the project, which is expected to be complete in 2029. Phase one also will bring 440 jobs that pay $75,300 per year on average.

The project is expected to bring an additional 520 indirect jobs to the county.

Why Knox County for Greenheck Group’s next big campus?

Knox County will be the HVAC company’s fourth corporate campus. Its other locations are in Schofield, Wisconsin; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

Knox County was chosen as the fourth Greenheck campus mainly due to the community and atmosphere of the area, CEO Rich Totzke previously told Knox News. It’s also located within a day’s travel for most Greenheck customers.

“(Knox County is) very similar from a culture perspective,” Totzke said. “We feel like as a community, that’s a community that we can plug into to try and make a difference.”

Knox News reporter Silas Sloan contributed to this report.

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.

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