Gov. Beshear: Rowan County Adds New Build-Ready Site To Spur Job Growth

State's 22nd Build-Ready location to provide future economic opportunities in the commonwealth

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 31, 2024) - Today, Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted continued momentum of the commonwealth's site development and speed-to-market efforts with the announcement of a new Build-Ready location in Rowan County, positioning the community for future investment and job creation.

The site at John Will Stacy MMRC Regional Industrial Park, located on Rocky Adkins Tech Drive in Morehead, adds to the state's growing list of properties that have been certified by the Cabinet for Economic Development as Build-Ready. These sites are available across the state for companies looking to locate in the commonwealth and start construction and operations quickly.

"The growth of Kentucky's Build-Ready program has been instrumental in laying the foundation for future economic success in communities across the commonwealth," said Gov. Beshear. "Our commitment to site development is paving the way for more quality companies to choose the commonwealth as a home for their business, bringing jobs and opportunities for Kentuckians with them. I want to thank local leadership in Morehead and Rowan County, as well as regional and state officials who helped get this site certified and ready for business."

The site includes 6.5 acres zoned for industrial use located along Kentucky Highway 801 South, just 2.5 miles from the Morehead-Rowan County Airport. On-site utilities include a four-inch gas line, eight-inch sewer line and a 16-inch waterline. Fleming Mason Energy provides electric service to the site, and natural gas is provided by Delta Natural Gas. The site is also serviced with fiber-optic lines for telecommunications.

The industrial park has also benefited from state support through multiple Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) projects including infrastructure upgrades and land acquisition.

In 2022, Rowan County was approved for $212,500 in state support through the pilot PDI program toward construction of a building pad-ready site. In 2023, KPDI provided $599,414 in funding to support the purchase of 238 acres along Rodney Hitch Boulevard for industrial use. Also in 2023, a regional project with support from Rowan, Menifee and Morgan counties was approved for $148,578 to perform infrastructure improvements at the industrial park. And just last week, $814,379 in state support was approved as community leaders seek to acquire an 80-acre tract of land for industrial development purposes.

Rowan County Judge/Executive Harry Clark highlighted the multiple sites now available for future businesses to locate and grow in the area: "The completion of our second Build-Ready site at the MMRC Regional Industrial Park underscores our commitment to economic development and job creation in our region. This 100,000-square-foot pad on a 6-acre site, along with our other 150,000-square-foot site on a 24-acre lot, provides versatile options for future investors. KPDI has been instrumental in enhancing these industrial sites, positioning us to attract significant investments and bolster economic growth by providing more well-paying jobs for our community."

Menifee County Judge/Executive Rick Stiltner is excited to see the impact the site has on the community: "These large and medium Build-Ready sites will allow our community to continue to promote and grow the region for industrial jobs for the constituents we serve."

Jason Slone, president and CEO of Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development, noted the future improvements and economic growth the project will bring: "KPDI represents a significant commitment to enhancing industrial sites across the state, fostering economic growth and job creation. This addition to the MMRC Regional Industrial Park has allowed us to create our second Build-Ready site, offering both a large and medium site to help foster future investments and job creation to serve Northeastern Kentucky and the I-64 corridor."

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 Build-Ready-certified, a site must include a pad ready to accommodate a building of 50,000 square feet with the ability to expand to 100,000 square feet 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.

With this new site in Rowan County, the commonwealth is now home to roughly 22 available Build-Ready sites. Multiple other locations across the state are currently working toward certification.

To date, 11 former Build-Ready-certified sites - including tracts located in Barren, Butler, Christian, Graves, Hart and Laurel 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.

The new Build-Ready site in Rowan County builds on the best four-year period for economic growth in state history.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,000 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling nearly $32 billion in announced investments, creating nearly 55,000 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth's history.

The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 and 2023 topped $26 in consecutive years for the first time.

Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States: Ford Motor Co. and SK On's transformative $5.8 billion, 5,000-job BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County; AESC's $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Toyota's $1.3 billion investment in Scott County; and INFAC North America's $53 million investment in Taylor County, among others.

The Governor's administration also secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund, as well as the most jobs filled in state history. Last year, Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history.

Kentucky also secured rating increases from major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings, and Moody's Investors Service upgraded Kentucky's credit outlook from stable to positive.

In March, Site Selection magazine ranked Kentucky third nationally and first in the South Central region for economic development projects per capita in its 2023 Governor's Cup rankings. In April, Site Selection placed Kentucky second in the South Central region and in the top 10 nationally in its 2024 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects.

Gov. Beshear announced a "Supply Kentucky" initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies.

For more information on Build-Ready sites in Kentucky, visit CED.ky.gov/BuildReady.

A detailed community profile for Rowan County can be viewed here.

Information on Kentucky's economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.

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