Olathe's City Council voted 7-0 on Aug. 18, to approve up to $239.8 million in industrial revenue bonds and a 10-year, 80% property tax abatement for Faith Technologies Incorporated to build three manufacturing plants near 167th Street and Lone Elm Road.

The Wisconsin-based company projects the facilities will create 1,153 jobs over 10 years. The deal passed without discussion, according to the Johnson County Post.

The vote was unanimous.

Each building will be roughly 500,000 square feet, totaling 1.5 million square feet of new manufacturing space on more than 118 acres southwest of the intersection. The plants will produce modular electrical and power systems for data centers, assembled and tested in Olathe before shipping to project sites nationwide.

Faith Technologies already operates two facilities totaling about 880,000 square feet across Lone Elm Road from the proposed site. The company opened its first Olathe plant in 2019 and added a second building in 2024. The three new buildings would push its local footprint to nearly 2.4 million square feet.

How the incentives work

The $239.8 million project will be privately financed, according to Faith Technologies. Under Kansas industrial revenue bond law, the city takes technical ownership of the property and leases it back to the company while bonds are outstanding. That structure makes the project eligible for sales and property tax exemptions.

The 80% abatement means Faith Technologies receives a full property tax exemption but makes payments in lieu of taxes equal to about 20% of what it would otherwise owe. During the abatement period, Olathe expects to collect roughly $40,700 per year from each building. After the abatement expires, the city projects annual revenue of about $203,500 per building, according to the city's filing.

The land had not generated any property tax revenue for Olathe because it was annexed into the city in August 2025.

Jobs and wages

Faith Technologies estimates the average annual salary will initially be about $56,000. About three-quarters of projected first-year employees, however, would start at $45,000 or less.

At a May 19 council meeting on a separate Faith Technologies office building project, a councilmember raised concerns about the city's 80% abatement policy and asked whether a cost-benefit analysis could be run at the 50% level. The mayor said at that meeting the city is "trying to remain competitive" and noted that a 10-year abatement at 80% is less costly than a 50% abatement lasting 20 years.

What's next

Construction will proceed in two phases, starting with the first two buildings. Faith Technologies has not provided a timeline. The Olathe Planning Commission approved the site development plan on July 27.