HIGHLAND, ILL. — Family-owned Korte Meat Processing Inc., a cured and packaged meat producer and retailer based in Highland, Ill., plans to turn a former newspaper printing facility that once printed The Wall Street Journal into a meat processing plant.

The Highland City Council is considering entering into a development agreement with Korte Meat owners, who hope to purchase the former Dow Jones facility on 915 Hemlock Street, Highland, Ill.

In its agenda, the council named a few benefits for the city resulting from the agreement, including added jobs, further development of nearby areas, a strengthened retail commercial sector and an improved tax base. The agreement, signed by Korte Meat, awaits approval of the council.

“We at Korte Meat Processing are continuing to grow and our slaughter is increasing,” Therese Korte, owner of Korte Meat, wrote to the council. “We are completely booked on slaughter through 12-31-23. We have a cancellation list that is a mile long. We are averaging 22 Beef and 10 Hogs weekly. With a new facility we are hoping to increase those numbers to 40 Beef and 25 Hogs weekly. We also process around 3,000 deer yearly.”

“With the new facility we will be doubling our retail area allowing us to expand what we can offer to our customers,” she added.

Korte Meats would invest around $8.7 million for the purchase and remodeling of the plant, and the city would rebate up to $15,000 for building permit fees. The agreement would also rebate 75% of the increment of property and business district sales taxes.