CONTRACTS FOR EXPANSION
By CHRIS MARSHALL
Photos by JOHN BURNS and BRADEN DIMICK
Topeka has a wide range of positives that make it an appealing location for growing businesses. It’s centrally located, land is affordable and employers can hire from a pool of talent with the famed Midwest work ethic. Yet when new and existing companies eye Shawnee County as a potential site for expansion, sometimes an added incentive helps them say, “Go.”
International brands like Mars Wrigley and Walmart have chosen Topeka as a base for new facilities in recent years, in addition to longtime area businesses primed for expansion, like Polo Custom Products. These are just a few on a long list of companies that have received funding from the Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO), which contracts with GO Topeka to promote economic development through a countywide half-cent sales tax.
Financial incentives have helped attract businesses, which in turn, provide opportunities for jobs and continued growth for the city and state. Plots of land that once sat empty on the outskirts of town are now home to facilities for some of the world’s biggest names.
