Gov. Beshear: New Build-Ready Location in Adair County Adds to Kentucky?s Site Development Initiatives
Green River Commerce Park joins growing list of Build-Ready locations across the commonwealth
FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 18, 2024) ? Today, Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted continued momentum of the commonwealth?s site development efforts with the announcement of a new Build-Ready location in Adair County, positioning the community for future investment and job creation.
The site at the Green River Commerce Park, at 238 Development Drive in Columbia, adds to the state?s growing list of properties certified by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development as Build-Ready. These sites are available statewide for companies looking to locate in the commonwealth and start construction and operations quickly.
?The Build-Ready program has steadily grown over the last several years, and I?m excited to see yet another community benefit,? said Gov. Beshear. ?The work that is happening in Adair County, and across the commonwealth, is a testament of Kentucky?s commitment to site development. It?s paving the way for companies to choose the commonwealth as a home for their business, bringing quality jobs and opportunities with them. I want to thank local leadership in Columbia and Adair County, as well as regional and state officials who helped make this site in the Green River Commerce Park certified and ready for business.?
The site includes a 150,000-square-foot Build-Ready-certified building pad on 17.8 acres. In total, the Green River Commerce Park has over 205 acres available for development. The industrial park is located along Kentucky Highway 55 and is less than four miles from Lindsey Wilson College and about 16 miles south of Campbellsville University.
Utilities include an eight-inch future gravity sewer line, as well as four- and eight-inch gas lines 800 feet west of the site. The property includes electric service provided by Taylor County RECC and natural gas provided by Columbia Gas of Kentucky. The site is also serviced with fiber for telecommunications by Duo Broadband.
Adair County Judge/Executive Larry Russell Bryant spoke about the benefits for a company to locate in the area: ?Adair County has been relatively stagnant when it comes to manufacturing jobs since the 1980s, so this certified Build-Ready pad, I believe, will be a key component to letting companies know that Adair County is ?open for business.? We have a very strategic location, located on the Heartland Parkway, and only minutes from the Cumberland Parkway, landing you on I-65 or I-75 within an hour. I am so thankful for Gov. Andy Beshear and Secretary Jeff Noel for providing programs and opportunities for communities like Adair County to complete projects like this pad at 50% cost to our community. That makes a huge difference for us. This certified Build-Ready pad gets us so much closer to our dream of good-paying, manufacturing jobs right here at home becoming reality!?
Columbia Mayor Pam Hoots showed support for the project: ?We are excited about the prospects that the Build-Ready status gives to our community.?
Columbia-Adair County Economic Development Authority Chairman Larry Walker mentioned the opportunities this certification will bring: ?By achieving Build-Ready status, we have put our community on the map for companies seeking a location to build a new facility. A certified Build-Ready pad drastically reduces the amount of time it takes a company to locate in our community. Thanks to the Adair County Fiscal Court and the city of Columbia for partnering with the EDA to make this a reality.?
Columbia-Adair County Economic Development Authority consultant Heather Spoon highlighted the agencies that made the development possible: ?It is such an honor to work with this Economic Development Authority. They had their eyes set on a Build-Ready pad, and I am so glad I was able to help them achieve that goal, not only for the EDA, but for my hometown. I am hopeful that this certified Build-Ready pad will pave the way for the job opportunities that Adair County desperately needs. We will continue to host and highlight all that Adair County has to offer every chance we get!?
With a Build-Ready site, much of the work ? aside from construction ? has already been completed. That includes controlling the land to be developed, completing archaeological, environmental and geotechnical studies, constructing a building pad, finishing preliminary design work, obtaining approved site plan permits and putting necessary infrastructure in place. On a Build-Ready site, construction can begin immediately.
To be Build-Ready-certified, a site must include a pad ready to accommodate a building of 50,000 square feet with the ability to expand to 100,000 square feet or more ? and utilities extending to the site. Applicants ? usually a city, county or economic development group ? must have previously filed the necessary permits, as well as preliminary building plans, cost estimates and schedule projections. Applicants also are asked to provide a rendering of a potential building for the site.
Including the new site in Adair County, the commonwealth is home to roughly 22 available Build-Ready sites. Multiple other locations across the state are currently working toward certification.
To date, eleven former Build-Ready-certified sites, including tracts located in Barren, Butler, Christian, Graves, Hart and Laurel counties and five sites in Warren County, have been selected by companies for new location projects, allowing companies to bring their operations online in a cost-efficient manner while creating jobs for local Kentuckians.
The new Build-Ready site in Adair County builds on the best four-year period for economic growth in state history.
Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,000 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling over $30.3 billion in announced investments, creating more than 52,000 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth?s history.
The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 and 2023 topped $26 in consecutive years for the first time.
Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States: Ford Motor Co. and SK On?s transformative $5.8 billion, 5,000-job BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County; AESC?s $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Toyota?s $1.3 billion investment in Scott County; and INFAC North America?s $53 million investment in Taylor County, among others.
The Governor?s administration also secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund, as well as the most jobs filled in state history. Last year, Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history.
Kentucky also secured rating increases from major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings, and Moody?s Investors Service upgraded Kentucky?s credit outlook from stable to positive.
This month, Site Selection magazine ranked Kentucky third nationally and first in the South Central economic development projects per capita in its 2023 Governor?s Cup rankings. Previously, Site Selection 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.
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 Build-Ready sites in Kentucky, visit CED.ky.gov/BuildReady.
A detailed community profile for Adair County can be viewed here.
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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