Geneva poised for industrial growth
In recent years, Geneva has celebrated milestone anniversaries with top employers such as Miner Enterprises and Burgess Norton while working to attract new industrial investment in the community.
Two of Geneva’s top employers have completed modernization and expansion projects to enhance production and create jobs.
General Mills, an original tenant and developer of the Geneva Business Park, is expanding its Geneva facility to add new manufacturing and warehousing space for a new production line. This more than $180 million capital investment will create about 100 new full-time jobs and add state-of-the-art equipment.
The General Mills expansion follows a similar multimillion-dollar investment by McCormick FONA, which added high-tech manufacturing capacities to its Geneva location. This project positioned the company for future growth and market competition in the food flavoring industry.
Low industrial vacancy rates in the Central Kane/DuPage county submarket are driving new industrial construction.
Last year, Hillwood and Prologis both acquired property in the existing Geneva Business Park to complete infill development. Recently, Hillwood moved the first tenant into the Fox Valley Commerce Center, a four-building industrial park adjacent to Kautz Road.
Presently, Geneva is poised for additional industrial growth.
Earlier this year, AJ Antunes secured development rights for a more than 50-acre corporate campus. The global company, with facilities in China and India and sales offices in Madrid and Kenya, manufactures a variety of products and equipment for the quick-service restaurant industry.
Antunes’ Geneva headquarters campus will be built in phases and will include a 373,924-square-foot light manufacturing facility, 15,000-square-foot school, 18,975-square-foot auditorium, 12,000-square-foot retreat center, 29,894 square feet of retail space, and 20,000 square feet reserved for a compatible future uses.
Geneva is on the brink of implementing decadelong plans for a new business park in the southeast quadrant adjacent to the Kane-DuPage county line. MWI Property Group is proposing a more than 200-acre class A business park consisting of eight to 10 buildings phased over time. The project also will include extending Kautz Road from Route 38 (Roosevelt Road) to Fabyan Parkway, a long-standing goal for Geneva and regional partners.
New industrial expansions require investment in the city’s electric utility. To offset electric and other infrastructure improvement costs, Geneva received a Rebuild Illinois grant for economic development and is proposing the formation of a new tax increment financing district, which has received positive support from neighboring taxing districts.
Implementing the Southeast Master Plan is a top strategic priority for the city of Geneva. Commercial and industrial development will secure a resilient local economy by expanding and diversifying the tax base that is significantly reliant on residential properties.
• Cathleen Tymoszenko is Geneva’s economic development director. She can be reached at (630) 232-7449 or ctymoszenko@geneva.il.us.