Liberty Heartland Logistics Center Benefits from Missouri’s Pro-Business Playbook

Missouri has a well established reputation as a pro-business state. It has one of the country’s most competitive tax environments and a low regulatory burden, it fosters a skilled workforce, it invests in its infrastructure, and it supports business-friendly legislation.

This approach to governing is evident not only at the state level, but at the city, county and community level as well. Kansas City, for example, invests heavily in its infrastructure and offers businesses a range of tax incentives as does Kansas City suburb Liberty, which offers tax increment financing, property tax abatement, industrial development bonds, and more.

These incentives, according to Liberty Mayor Greg Canuteson, demonstrate the city’s commitment to “fostering a vibrant economic development environment to attract and retain private sector investment and jobs in Liberty.”

Mike Stromberg, Director of Real Estate Development, who worked closely with Liberty economic development officials as we pursued our Liberty Heartland Logistics Center development, says Liberty’s business-friendly policies were instrumental in our ability to get the project off the ground.

“Leaders in Liberty understand the value of their location and their proximity to vital transportation corridors, and they make the investments necessary in their infrastructure and workforce to leverage that location,” he said. “In addition, they proactively partner with industrial developers to provide the tax abatement incentives needed to make our projects viable.”

As a result, added Mike, Liberty is a prime community for manufacturing, warehouse, distribution and other light industrial operations. In fact, Liberty is experiencing more industrial growth now than at any other time in its history, and five of the community’s 10 largest employers are industrial businesses.

Liberty Heartland Logistics Center is a three-phase development located just off Interstate 35. Phase one was an 847,475-square-foot build-to-suit distribution center for Hallmark, who moved into the facility in March 2023. Phase two included two speculative buildings totaling 812,000 square feet. TAB, an international manufacturer of industrial batteries, moved into 66,700 square feet in April 2024. Animal Health International, a global distributor of animal health products, opened its new 255,000-square-foot distribution center in March 2025.

The importance of the development on the local community and economy cannot be overstated. It enabled Hallmark, which has been a Kansas City-based company for well over 100 years, to create a centralized distribution hub in Liberty. TAB brought its first U.S. headquarters and assembly and distribution operations to the town. And Animal Health was able to expand its existing Liberty operations and support future growth.

Of the city’s support of the development, Mayor Canuteson said, “We are proud to partner with developers like Opus to provide the space needed to expand businesses like Hallmark and Animal Health International that already have a presence in Liberty. We are also thrilled to create dynamic opportunities for new companies like TAB for its U.S. headquarters.”

• More about Hallmark at Liberty Heartland Logistics Center
• More about Liberty Heartland Logistics Center