Crossville and Cumberland County leaders gathered Friday to break ground on the a $4.5 million spec building inside the Industrial Park.
Crossville Chamber of Commerce CEO Ethan Hadley said the estimated 100,000 square-foot building will offer space and facilities to attract businesses to the area. Hadley said breaking ground is a major milestone for the project.
“Economic development, it takes vision, planning, time, patience, effort, and continuous follow-through, and this is an important part of that cycle,” Hadley said. “The end result being, getting and creating new jobs and more economic opportunities for our citizens.”
Hadley said the spec building will essentially be “bait on the hook” as many businesses are looking for existing facilities to move. Hadley said the facility will help Crossville compete in a global market to acquire industries.
“This puts us one step closer to being in an optionable marketing position for this site,” Hadley said. “When a company or a consultant calls and says they are looking for this size of site and this general location, whether it be in Tennessee or the southeastern United States, whatever geographic area, we have a speculative building with a gravel floor. We don’t pour the concrete because that will be defined by the ultimate end user. It gives us a huge leg up in competing for opportunities that come our way.”
Hadley said even though dirt is just now moving on the project, the building is already generating interest.
“We are already marketing the building,” Hadley said. “There is interest, and even though it has not even started coming out of the ground yet, we are able to respond to companies’ requests or further information and let them know that we have this in process and that it will be available.”
Hadley said he expects the building to be completed in about a year.
