New protein manufacturing facility eyed for south St. Joseph
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — St. Joseph could see an infusion of nearly 140 new jobs if city leaders agree to a contract to build a new protein manufacturing facility in the south end.
Pending City Council approval, the city will enter into a contract with Nortian Foodtech, LLC., to construct the manufacturing facility on a 24-acre plot of land at 2202 Alabama St., across the street from Ventura Foods.
As part of the contract, the city will transfer the land — valued at $660,337 — to Nortian for $10. As a condition of the contract, the company will provide the city an irrevocable letter of credit for $660,337 to serve as collateral to ensure job creation requirements are met.
The facility will utilize by-products from local businesses to create protein supplements. The city has owned the property for approximately 30 years and has marked it for economic development efforts since the time of the initial acquisition.
The construction of the facility is estimated to create approximately 138 jobs over the course of five years. The city is considering other incentives to provide to Nortian to assist in the development of the manufacturing facility and any such incentives will be presented to council at a later time.
This project is a partnership between the Chamber of Commerce and the city to inject new investments within the community and to create new jobs.
City councilmembers will hear a bill for first reading for a contract at Monday’s council meeting, with a formal vote to approve or deny the measure scheduled for March 17.
