Cumberland County looking to expand its inventory of marketable industrial property as it works to attract future employers.
Chamber President and CEO Ethan Hadley said the state-provided initiative allows local officials to determine if specific properties are truly viable for recruitment. Hadley said the process involves a partnership with a consulting firm.
“The property evaluation program allows us to select tracts of land that could be used for industrial development,” Hadley said, “And to take a deeper dive looking at whether they are truly viable for a future industry opportunity.”
Hadley said the county previously used this program for the Interchange Business Park in Crossville, which eventually received grants for infrastructure and the construction of a speculative building.
Hadley said the state requires potential sites to be larger than 20 acres, though officials are specifically searching for tracts that span hundreds of acres to increase the local inventory of available land.
“In economic development, you can only be as successful in recruiting companies as you have inventory and other factors in place to accommodate those opportunities,” Hadley said.
Hadley said once the program shortlists the specific sites, the county becomes eligible to apply for grants to conduct due diligence studies. These evaluations include geotechnical reviews, wetland studies, and endangered species assessments to improve the marketability of the land.
“If you are fishing and you have no bait on the hook then you’re not going to catch very much,” Hadley said. “As we select new properties with the state and Austin Consulting and further vet them and then perform the that due diligence to make them more marketable sites, then that allows us to attract more looks, more visits, more further evaluation by companies and by consultants who ultimately make the decision on where to go.”
He said the current evaluation process will help the county compete for various industry sizes and employment numbers by reducing the risk for companies looking to move quickly on demanding timelines.
“Ultimately that’s what it’s about with projects these days is they are looking for things to be done in very short order on very demanding timelines,” Hadley said.
Hadley said the grant opportunities for due diligence and site improvements typically require a local matching component. He said the county prepares in advance to ensure those funds are available as the opportunities arise.
