Produce firm breaks ground on $29M HQ at former Kenosha greyhound track

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Grocery distributor Heartland Produce broke ground Thursday on a nearly $30 million facility that marks the first project to occupy the site of the former Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha.

Heartland’s new headquarters marks the first building in the Greenway Development, which is slated to contain industrial, commercial and multi-family housing on the former site of the dog track, which was Wisconsin’s last greyhound park when it closed in 2009. Heartland is a third-generation family-owned company that supplies produce to retailers and grocery distributors.

The company’s new headquarters includes a 200,000-square-foot produce distribution facility. Heartland saw growth during the pandemic, and the project will give the firm space for new fruit and vegetable ripening rooms that will allow the company to increase production.

The Forest County Potawatomi and the Zilber Group are leading the redevelopment of the Dairyland Greyhound park complex. Plans call for developing more than 1.6 million square feet of industrial space, more than 400 apartment units and 117,000 square feet of commercial space.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is contributing $500,000 in tax incentives to support Heartland’s headquarters project. The new facility will help increase its employment from 160 workers to 200, according to a news release.

“This project is so exciting because it will not only create 40 family-supporting jobs but it will act as an anchor for a new business park and neighborhood,” said Missy Hughes, WEDC CEO. “With Interstate 94 running right by the site and the Kenosha Regional Airport nearby, the site is ideal for all kinds of business development.”