Jackson County will participate in a state property evaluation program to identify and prepare land for future industrial development to attract new businesses.
Industrial Development Board Chairman Jim Birdwell said the program allows the county to locate sites with high industrial potential and secure three-year options on the property. Birdwell said the process includes site inspections and core drilling to ensure the soil is suitable for industrial construction before the land is marketed to potential employers.
“They come in looking for a site, they usually want to move quickly,” Birdwell said. “And if we don’t have something prepared and ready for them to be able to start building on very quickly, why, we will lose them to some other area whether it’s in Tennessee or some other state because they can accomplish what they want more quickly if we do not have something prepared and available for them.”
Birdwell said the county worked with the state economic community development program to secure assistance in finding locations that qualify for state funding. Birdwell said having shovel-ready property allows the county to be competitive by offering industries a location where they can begin operations quickly.
“Of course, jobs is a very important (part) for any community,” Birdwell said. “I remember our history in Jackson County. At one time we had about seventeen or eighteen thousand population in the 1920’s and 30’s. But people left Jackson County at that time to go up north because they could not find jobs here. Then in the 1950’s, we started developing an industrial park and as we started developing industries here, why, young people getting out of high school were able to stay here in the community they loved.”
Birdwell said the evaluation process utilizes state expertise to ensure the ground is suitable and that proper infrastructure is in place. Birdwell said the county also coordinates with other partners in the Upper Cumberland region to refer industries to neighboring locations if a specific site does not meet their size requirements. Birdwell said this program is a vital step for providing livable wages for Jackson County natives to live and work in their home community, if they so wish.
“Not only does it help us to maintain growth for our community, and it helps to support the economy of the county, it helps to support all the local merchants,” Birdwell said. “And everyone that has grown up in Jackson County, they don’t want to leave. The young kids growing up here, they want to stay. And they cannot stay if they do not have a job. So it is very important for the for our future, for the for the people that wants to continue living in here, as well as for the economy of the county.”
Birdwell said maintaining a ready inventory of industrial land is necessary to sustain the same level of growth in recent decades, while continuing to support local merchants.
“The program is of course badly needed for the community to be prepared for future growth and to be able to get jobs for its citizens here,” Birdwell said. “The program is a tremendous help to us because of the expertise that we can get in developing sites.”
Birdwell said the evaluation process will take at least one year before the identified land is ready for industrial development purposes.