By Michelle Price
Special to the UCBJ
NASHVILLE – Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) Commissioner Bob Rolfe announced today that 10 communities will collectively receive more than $3.8 million in Site Development Grant funding, including a $1.0 million grant for the Plateau Partnership Park, the 775-acre regional industrial site located adjacent to Interstate 40 in eastern Cumberland County. The site is owned and being developed by the Industrial Development Board of the Counties of Cumberland, Morgan and Roane,Tennessee.
The grant will be used to upgrade an existing 8,900 linear foot section of water line along Mt. Vernal to a 12-inch line. The line will extend from Mt. Vernal Road under Interstate 40 to the Plateau Partnership Park Site.
The Site Development Grant program is part of the Rural Economic Opportunity Act supported by the Tennessee General Assembly for the last three years.
“I am excited to announce 10 Site Development Grant recipients, and I’m especially pleased that each recipient is a rural site,” Lee said. “The site development grant program is part of the Rural Economic Opportunity Act, which focuses on promoting economic growth in rural Tennessee. I look forward to seeing what success the future holds for these communities with the assistance of these grants.”
The grants are designed to help communities achieve Select Tennessee site certification and prepare industrial sites for economic development projects. The funding helps communities invest in infrastructure and engineering improvements on project-ready sites.
“Attracting industry to Tennessee’s rural communities continues to be one of TNECD’s main goals,” Rolfe said. “With the assistance of the Site Development Grants, the 10 recipients will be able to better prepare their sites and increase their chances of recruiting new businesses to their communities.”
“We are most grateful for the continued support of Governor Lee, Commissioner Rolfe and our Legislators,” said Plateau Partnership Park IDB Chairman John Davis. “This grant allows us to continue efforts toward making our site truly ‘pad ready’.”
The Site Development Grant program works in tandem with TNECD’s Select Tennessee program. Since 2016, TNECD has awarded 90 Site Development Grants across the state, totaling nearly $32 million in assistance to local communities.
“I was excited to learn that the Plateau Partnership Park IDB has received a grant for $1,000,000. Cumberland County is a regional hub for three distressed counties that border us,” said Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster. “These funds will be used for a water line extension to the industrial park that should help make the park for attractive for industry and move us closer toward economic growth for the entire region. I want to thank everyone involved in this process from the IDB to the state of Tennessee.”
The grants awarded this round include:
City of Covington
Rialto Industrial Park, $420,000 – Water line replacement
City of Gallatin
Gallatin Industrial Park, $96,310 – Installation of a detention pond
City of Lexington
Reeves Property, $495,000– Development of an industrial road
Industrial Development Board of the County of Bradley and City of Cleveland
Spring Branch Industrial Park, $1,000,000 – Grade and prepare a site
Industrial Development Board of the Counties of Cumberland, Morgan, and Roane
Plateau Partnership Park, $1,000,000 – Water line extension
Industrial Development Board of The City of Fayetteville and Lincoln County
Runway Center Industrial Park, $500,000 – Grade and prepare a site
Marion County
Nickajack Industrial Site & Port, $66,047 – Conduct due diligence studies
Paris-Henry County Industrial Committee
American Colloid Site, $100,000 – Conduct due diligence studies
Washington County
Washington County Industrial Park, $94,500 – Conduct due diligence studies
City of Waynesboro
Waynesboro Industrial Park, $92,791 – Conduct due diligence studies
Applications were reviewed by an advisory committee made up of TNECD, Austin Consulting, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Department of Transportation and USDA Rural Development.
Each application was supported by the community’s senator and representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly.
