RICHMOND, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted ongoing investment in the commonwealth economy today when he joined Madison County official to cut the ribbon on another state Build-Ready site development project expected to attract jobs to the Richmond area.
“The growth of our speed-to-market initiatives over the last few years is helping to position Kentucky for even more investment and jobs in every corner of the state,” Gov. Beshear said. “Companies looking to invest here for the first time or expand operations have a new place to get up and running quickly, and that brings more great job opportunities for our people. I want to thank the local and state officials for helping to establish this site and look forward to the investment and job creation it will bring to Madison County.”
The new site, located in the Richmond Industrial Park South III on Bill Robertson Way, adds to the state’s growing list of properties certified by the Cabinet for Economic Development as Build-Ready. The site consists of nearly 47 acres owned by the Richmond Industrial Development Corp. (RIDC) and includes two graded building pads consisting of 87,500 and 300,000 square feet respectively.
The site was previously approved in March 2023 for $500,000 in state funding through the Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) to further industrial site development. The Richmond Industrial Park South III site is also a CSX Select Site, which highlights sites across the U.S. that have highly desirable direct rail access.
The site is zoned for heavy industrial use with two graded, fully engineered and compacted building pads totaling nearly 400,000 s.f. Utilities include 4- and 8-inch gas lines, 10- and 12-inch sewer lines and 12- and 16-inch waterlines. Electric service to the newly graded sites is provided by Blue Grass Energy Cooperative and Kentucky Utilities. Natural gas will be provided to future tenants by the Delta Natural Gas Company and high-speed internet is available at the site as well.
Richmond Mayor Robert Blythe highlighted the positive impact that companies choosing to locate in the community are having: “The city of Richmond is very much appreciative of the jobs that are being made available by companies that have chosen to locate here. Whether their operations are in our industrial parks or in other locations throughout the community, their continued growth and prosperity is very important to us.”
John McPhearson, president of the RIDC, noted the upgrades done to the site and the new business it will attract: “This new Kentucky certified Build-Ready site is just one of several infrastructure upgrades that have been done in the Industrial Park to increase marketability. Attracting new business prospects to our Industrial Parks is a very competitive process and we stand ready to meet that challenge. We are Build-Ready!”
With a Build-Ready site, much of the work – aside from construction – has already been completed. That includes controlling the land to be developed, completing archaeological, environmental and geotechnical studies, constructing a building pad, finishing preliminary design work, obtaining approved site plan permits and putting necessary infrastructure in place. On a Build-Ready site, construction can begin immediately.
To be certified as Build-Ready, a site must include a pad that can accommodate a building of 50,000 s.f., with the ability to expand to 100,000 s.f. or more, and utilities extending to the site. Applicants – usually a city, county or economic development group – must have previously filed the necessary permits, as well as preliminary building plans, cost estimates and schedule projections. Applicants also are asked to provide a rendering of a potential building for the site.
Including the new site in Madison County, the commonwealth is home to 26 available Build-Ready sites. Multiple other locations across the state are currently working toward certification.
To date, 12 former Build-Ready-certified sites — including tracts located in Barren, Butler, Christian, Graves, Hart, Laurel and Pulaski counties and five sites in Warren County — have been selected by companies for new location projects, allowing companies to bring their operations online in a cost-efficient manner while creating jobs for local Kentuckians.
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