Finnish Modular Homebuilder's Georgia Factory On Tap For 9-Figure Incentive Package
A modular housing manufacturer that is planning to open a “mega factory for housing” in south Georgia is in line for $144M in tax breaks, incentives and grants for the $750M project.
Finnish company Admares is in the design phase of development of a 2.5M SF facility on a 189-acre site on U.S. 23 in Waycross to manufacture single-family homes, townhomes and apartments that can be shipped and assembled elsewhere.
The company is applying for a $78.5M local property tax break over 25 years to lease the site from the Waycross and Ware County Development Authority, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported based on an open records request.
Other state and local incentives that would be granted to Admares include $24.8M in job tax credits for a workforce numbering 1,418 employees earning an average annual salary of $56K, $19.8M in tax breaks for machinery costs, and an $8.9M port tax credit for increasing port activity, according to the AJC.
Based in Turku, Finland, Admares partnered with European corporate giants Porsche and Siemens to develop robotic manufacturing capabilities, which the company claims reduces installation and construction timelines for multifamily projects by five times.
The Waycross facility, some 125 miles southwest of Savannah, is set to open in 2025 and would be Admares’ first U.S. manufacturing facility. It is expected to be staffed by administrators, managers, information technology specialists, engineers and robotic-maintenance personnel.
Admares has until Feb. 1, 2026, to hit performance metrics like employment and private investment goals in order to get the full incentive package, the AJC reported. The company only needs to reach 80% of those goals to be in compliance, according to the AJC.
