Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter announced 11 new Site Development Grant recipients.
The grants, totaling more than $17 million, are designed to help communities invest in infrastructure and engineering improvements to land economic development projects and achieve Select Tennessee site certification.
“A shovel-ready industrial site can be the deciding factor for a company looking to do business in Tennessee, and that's why our efforts are critical to community and economic development,” said Gov. Lee. “I congratulate the communities receiving funding through this round of grants and look forward to seeing the growth our investment in these sites will bring.”
The Site Development Grant program is part of the Rural Economic Opportunity Act, which provides funding to improve the economies of Tennessee’s rural communities. Since 2016, TNECD has awarded 191 Site Development Grants across the state, totaling nearly $100 million in assistance to local communities and generating 7,091 new jobs for Tennesseans.
“Eleven Tennessee communities are one step closer to achieving Select Tennessee Site certification through today’s announcement,” said Commissioner McWhorter. “Tennessee’s rural communities are the backbone of our state, and I applaud the local leaders who have taken the necessary steps to set each of these communities up for future economic investment and job creation.”
The grants awarded this round include:
City of Trenton Economic and Industrial Development Board
Trenton IDB Building, $20,000 – Due diligence
City of Union City, Tennessee
Northwest TN Regional Industrial Center, $1,100,000 – Property clearing and grading
Clarksville-Montgomery County Area Economic Development Council, Inc.
Clarksville Montgomery County North Industrial Park, $600,000 – Access road construction and due diligence
Industrial Board of Coffee County, Tennessee, Incorporated
Manchester Industrial Park, $1,610,450 – Sewer infrastructure
Industrial Development Board of the City of Morristown, Tennessee
East TN Progress Center Lot 10, $4,000,000 – Speculative building construction
Industrial Development Board of the County of Benton
Smith Property, $1,937,050 – Property purchase
The Industrial Development Board of Fentress County
Clarkrange Regional Business Park, $100,000 – Due diligence
The Industrial Development Board of Scott County, Tennessee
Airport Industrial Site, $66,500 – Due diligence
The Industrial Development Board of the City of Fayetteville and Lincoln County, Tennessee
Runway Centre Industrial Park, $3,500,000 – Speculative building construction
The Industrial Development Board of the County of Bradley and the City of Cleveland, Tennessee
Spring Branch Industrial Park Lots 8 & 9, $2,946,186 – Property grading
The Paris - Henry County Industrial Committee
Paris-Henry County Industrial Park, $1,123,760 – Property clearing and due diligence
Applications were reviewed by an advisory committee made up of TNECD, Austin Consulting, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
Each application was supported by the community’s senator and representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly.