The Fentress County Industrial Development Board has reached agreement with Enbridge to locate temporarily at the Clarkrange Business Park.
The firm will use the space for roughly 18 months as it builds out a new 126-mile gas pipeline through the region. The Industrial Development Board’s Jacob Rosenbaum said the lease will benefit the county long-term.
“They are going to grade and run three-phase power into the business park. That’s a tremendous investment,” Rosenbaum said. “Those two things are probably well over $1.5 million if you try to do it yourself, so that’s quite a bit of money that we’ve saved.”
The facility will be used as a pipeyard for the gas-line build out. Rosenbaum said the board recently completed the clearing of an additional 40 acres at the park.
“The trees have been downed and the project is now in the cleanup phase, and we encourage you to drive by and view the progress if you’re in the Clarkrange area,” Rosenbaum said. “The difference it’s made in the scope of the park is really tremendous, it’s almost doubled the amount of cleared land at the business park.”
The project funded by a 2023 ARC Grant.
“We were fortunate enough to have a local contractor who submitted the low bid for the project, so we were able to keep these grant funds in the local economy,” Rosenbaum said. “We always prefer to use a local contractor, if possible, when the law allows.”
The Board has also received an SDG Grant worth $100,000 for due diligence studies on the property. A similar grant was awarded last year to study the previously cleared areas.
Rosenbaum said the Clarkrange Business Park has also been marketed for private investment. The board hosted a visit in January from a rocket company. Rosenbaum said that company continues to explore incentives with the state.
