Gov. Beshear: 8 Counties Awarded Nearly $5 Million to Support Build-Ready Site Development, Job Growth
Round 1 of funding provides over $31 million in statewide support
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 7, 2023) ? Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced the final approvals in the initial round of a new Build-Ready site development initiative as six projects supporting economic development and job growth in eight counties were approved for nearly $5 million in state funding.
The Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) projects are in Butler, Fulton, Owen, Powell and Warren counties, as well as a regional project that includes Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.
?The first round of funding has been a tremendous success in supporting future growth and economic momentum,? said Gov. Beshear. ?Our site development and speed-to-market initiatives are crucial to our long-term success in attracting companies to locate in our communities, bringing with them quality job opportunities. I am thrilled to see these projects moving ahead and look forward to seeing the businesses and companies they attract.?
Established in 2022 and administered by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA), round one of the KPDI program includes 53 site and building development projects statewide approved for over $31 million in state funding.
The latest awards will improve a variety of facilities.
The Boone County Fiscal Court, on behalf of the Kenton County Airport Board, is seeking to construct an air cargo warehouse facility with airside access on airport property. This is a regional project with support from Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties. KPDI funds will supply $3.6 million with the total anticipated investment being over $14.7 million.
The city of Morgantown, on behalf of the Morgantown Industrial Holding Corp. in Butler County, is seeking to improve roads in the Morgantown Industrial Park. KPDI funds will provide over $300,000 to the project, with total improvements being just over $600,000.
The Fulton County Fiscal Court, on behalf of the Fulton County Industrial Development Authority, is seeking to develop the Enterprise Park for site development and rail-readiness. The nearly $1.9 million project was approved today for over $158,000 in state support.
The Owen County Fiscal Court, on behalf of the Owen County Industrial Development Corp., is seeking to construct a new Build-Ready pad in Owen County. KPDI funds will provide over $90,000 for the $186,500 site-upgrade project.
The Powell County Fiscal Court, on behalf of the Powell County Industrial Development Authority, is seeking to extend water and sewer utilities into the Clay City Business Park. The total anticipated project investment is $780,000 with nearly $320,000 in KPDI funding approved for the site.
The city of Bowling Green, on behalf of the Inter-Model Transportation Authority, is seeking to extend infrastructure in the Kentucky Transpark in Warren County. The site will see over $830,000 in improvements, with over $415,000 coming from state support through the KPDI program.
Haley McCoy,?president and CEO of the Kentucky Association for Economic Development (KAED), is thrilled to see the growth and positive impact the KPDI program is having across the state: ?It?s incredible to see this program continue to make such an impact all across Kentucky. KAED and its members are grateful to the General Assembly and the Cabinet for Economic Development for their diligence in making this program available to Kentucky communities. KPDI is a wonderful example of cross-sector collaboration as well, where eight Kentucky utilities have invested to make available the third-party site selection evaluations, including Atmos Energy, Big Rivers Electric, Duke Energy, Kentucky Power, LG&E and KU, TVA, Touchstone Energy Cooperatives and Louisville Water. KAED is honored to work with so many partners who are dedicated to seeing Kentucky succeed. This list of communities and their projects proves we are heading in the right direction.?
In March, Gov. Beshear?announced?the first approvals in the initial round of the KPDI program, rolling out over $2.7 million in state funding for site and building development projects in Laurel and Madison counties, as well as a regional project between Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup and Lawrence counties. In?April, over $4.6 million was approved for eight site and development projects in Adair, Allen, Breckinridge, Johnson, Rowan, Russell and Simpson counties, as well as a regional project in Bell, Knox and Whitley counties.
In May, Gov. Beshear?highlighted?the approval of 11 more site and development projects, awarding nearly $7 million in state support for projects in Barren, Fayette, Green, Hickman, Jackson, Jessamine, LaRue, McCreary, Todd, Wayne and Woodford counties.
In June, Gov. Beshear?announced?the approval of eight more projects across 11 counties totaling over $2.5 million in state funding for sites in Logan, Washington, Henderson, Caldwell, Trigg and Nicholas counties, as well as a regional project including Caldwell, Crittenden, Livingston, Lyon and Trigg counties.
In July, Gov. Beshear?reported?an additional five sites in seven counties throughout the commonwealth were approved for over $3.4 million in state funding to support land and building development and encourage economic growth and quality jobs across Bracken, Fleming, Hopkins and Pulaski counties, as well as a regional project including Menifee, Morgan and Rowan counties.
In August, Gov. Beshear highlighted?the approval of two more site and development projects, awarding over $1.3 million in state support for projects in Harrison and Graves County.
In September, Gov. Beshear announced the approval of two more projects across two counties totaling nearly $322,000 in state support for projects in Daviess and Martin counties.
In October, Gov. Beshear reported eight additional projects across 13 counties received funding totaling over $4.3 million across Boyle, Lincoln, Marion, McCracken and Ohio counties, as well as regional projects that include Ballard, Carlisle, Daviess, Garrard, Hopkins, Lincoln, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio and Rockcastle counties.
The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development continues to review each project for a recommendation of approval in the coming months.
The program was established last year after Gov. Beshear and the General Assembly approved $100 million in funding during the regular 2022 session.
Applications are first evaluated by an independent consultant based upon all facets a prospective company would consider, from workforce availability, access to all infrastructure and detailed information on costs associated with development. In turn, these projects will generate increased economic development opportunities and job creation for Kentucky residents. The program furthers the efforts of the pilot Product Development Initiative program, which provided nearly $7 million in state funding for 20 site and building development projects statewide.
Investment in site development throughout Kentucky builds on recent economic momentum in the commonwealth.
Gov. Beshear recently?reported?that General Fund receipts for October 2023 totaled over $1 billion, marking the 14th straight month with revenues over $1 billion. The Governor also recently?announced?that his administration secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund, as well as the most jobs filled in state history.
The General Fund budget surplus at the end of fiscal year 2023 was more than $1.55 billion. Nearly all of the $1.55 billion surplus will go into the commonwealth?s Rainy Day Fund, bringing the fund to a record balance of $3.7 billion ? a 2,700% increase since Gov. Beshear took office in 2019.
This year, the Governor?announced?that Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history.
Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 930 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling over $28.3 billion in announced investments, creating 50,466 jobs. This is the highest investment figure for any governor in state history.
The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 was $26.78 before benefits, the second-highest mark since 2010 and an 11.5% increase over the previous year.
The Governor also secured the best two-year period in state history for economic growth and announced the two largest economic development projects in state history. In September 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK On?celebrated?a transformative $5.8 billion investment that will create 5,000 jobs in Hardin County. In April 2022, the Governor was joined by leadership at AESC to?announce?a $2 billion investment that will create 2,000 jobs in Warren County. These announcements solidify Kentucky as the EV battery production capital of the United States.
That position was strengthened even further in May 2023, when the Governor and leaders at Toyota?announced?a $591 million investment across multiple projects as the company?s largest manufacturing operation in Georgetown introduced its first battery electric vehicle. Growth within the EV sector continued into June as Gov. Beshear joined INFAC North America to?break ground?on the company?s $53 million investment to support EV-related production in Campbellsville.
Over a two-month period this year, Kentucky secured two credit rating increases from major agencies. On May 12, Gov. Beshear?announced?that his administration obtained the first state-level credit rating upgrade in 13 years and the first-ever upgrade from Fitch Ratings. On June 29, Gov. Beshear?announced?the commonwealth received its first-ever rating increase from S&P Global Ratings. Recently, Moody?s Investors Service upgraded Kentucky?s credit outlook from stable to positive.
Site Selection magazine placed Kentucky first in the South Central region and top-5 nationally in its 2023 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects. The publication also placed Kentucky second nationwide and first in the South Central region for its annual Governor?s Cup ranking for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.
Gov. Beshear announced a ?Supply Kentucky? initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies.
For more information on KPDI, visit?KPDI.ky.gov.
Information on Kentucky?s economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.
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