The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday morning to pony up $250,000 to start the process of establishing a fifth megasite.
The money is about half of the cost to do “due diligence,” Golden Triangle Regional Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins told the supervisors during their meeting at the courthouse.
A megasite is a large swath of land, usually more than 1,000 acres, dedicated to industrial developments for several companies to build and operate on. The megasite program is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The Golden Triangle already has four other megasites, which are home to Steel Dynamics, Aluminum Dynamics and Paccar in Lowndes County and Yokohama Tire in Clay County.
The so-called “Cinco” megasite is planned for land north of Highway 82, Higgins said. The site encompasses about 1,500 acres bounded by North Frontage Road in the south, Steger Road and Golden Horn Road in the east, Swoope Road in the north and the area across from Paccar and east of the catfish ponds on the west.
The Golden Horn Restaurant is not included in the site, Higgins said.
Due to the large amount of industrial development, especially the new Aluminum Dynamics project, Lowndes County has little developable land available to market, Higgins said.
In October Steel Dynamics announced a $2.5 billion project that would add a low-carbon flat-rolled aluminum mill near its steel mill off of Airport Road, and a biocarbon facility on Artesia Road near the International Paper pulp mill.
The mill is expected to be complete by late 2025 and create around 700 jobs, and the biocarbon facility by late 2023 and create around 40 jobs.
“We’ve got some smaller sites…,” Higgins said. “We like to go for the large capital investment projects, and we’re just about out of land.”
Higgins said the LINK and the Lowndes County Industrial Development Authority have an option on the Cinco land, but preliminary work is needed to make sure it is suitable to develop.
“That includes surveying, funding applications for water and sewer improvements, cost of the land, cultural resources surveys, rail designs, all the stuff that goes with development,” Higgins said.
The cost estimate is $500,000 in total cost, and Higgins said the LCIDA has agreed to pay half. He asked the supervisors to approve the second half, to come out of the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.
“With LCIDA’s money, we think we have enough funds to start the work,” Higgins said. “… We think from a timing standpoint we can start work now and not outrun the money.”
Higgins said the option on the land was good until July 1, 2024, but it could be extended for an additional six months if necessary.
“Contingent on your agreement, we’re going to tell our professionals to go to work no later than July 1,” Higgins said.
After the meeting, President and District 2 Supervisor Trip Hairston said it was important that the county not lose momentum when it comes to economic development.
“Ceco Engineering was one of the more stable jobs in Lowndes County, and in the last month we’ve seen it be razed to the ground,” he said. “Omnova and Ecolab are gone. You have to keep your foot on the gas all the way, and we need to be looking at new opportunities all the time to develop industry.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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