The Golden Triangle Development LINK wants representatives of the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors, Starkville Board of Aldermen and Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority to vet three proposed industrial park plans and pick a path forward within 45 days.
LINK Chief Executive Officer Joe Max Higgins unveiled three investment locations — land north of the Highway 82-Highway 25 juncture, 16th section land south of George M. Bryan Airport and Cornerstone Park — to city and county leaders Monday at The Mill at MSU.
Two of the proposed areas represent new sites thought to be capable of supporting advanced manufacturing jobs with the right investments, while Cornerstone Park has been under OCEDA control for more than a decade.
Each option presents its own challenges, ranging from total project cost to the time needed to develop each site to its full potential, Higgins said.
The LINK CEO asked each governing body to pick two representatives at their next board meetings so Oktibbeha County can define its path forward in terms of industrial recruitment.
“We can’t make the decisions anymore. You’ve got to make them,” Higgins said.
Leaders showed interest in combining the 16th section and Cornerstone Park improvement plans together in one development package because of their smaller price tag and since most of the land is already under county control or owned by the school district.
Such a development could create an industrial core along both sides Highway 25.
The ‘game changer’ on 389
The first option presented by Higgins is designated the Strange, Stanley and Waldrop property, which runs and west of Highway 389.
The almost 400-acre site is comprised of 13 individual lots combining for 192.98 acres, a 28.3-acre site for a proposed spec building, a 6-acre site for a 4-County Electric Power Association substation and a 157.3-acre parcel for future expansion.
Dubbed a “game changer” by Higgins, the Strange, Stanley and Waldrop property comes with significant challenges.
Besides an estimated $30 million price tag — the city and county would each have to issue about $7 million in bonds to develop the land — additional work will be needed to clear the property of cultural resources.
If the city and county commit to the project, Higgins said property owners must agree to reduce their selling prices as to offset the cost of clearing the cultural resources from the land.
The properties are under option until July 31, and the agreements can be extended another six months, Higgins said. Mitigation efforts cannot begin until the properties are purchased.
Similar concerns with cultural resources killed the LINK’s last industrial park proposal north of the Highway 182-Highway 25 interchange.
While an estimated $10 million to extend pipes and solve the area’s lack of natural gas infrastructure, Higgins said 4-County has committed to a $4 million, 60 megawatt investment at the location.
The LINK previously received a commitment from an undisclosed industry to build a 75,000-square-foot speculative building at the site, but Higgins said his organization would need to revisit that agreement since mitigation efforts could take up to two years.
The ‘middle of the road’ investment
For about $6 million, the city and county could purchase parcels and develop Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District-controlled land south of the city’s municipal airport.
The proposed development district is about 200 combined acres. Higgins said local government can purchase 100 acres from the school district for industrial purposes and utilize available, cleared property north of acquisition zones.
In this scenario, the city and county would be each be on the hook for projected $3 million bond issuances.
A majority of the costs would go toward buying the property and constructing a road that would allow trucks to enter the park via Highway 25.
Pursuing school district property adds another layer of government bureaucracy to the process, Higgins said, as the groups would need to successfully negotiate agreements with the school board.
Environmental due diligence has not yet been performed on the site due to a lack of funds. Higgins said another $44,000 is required to fund the study. The city and county can either authorize an additional expenditure or wait until Oct. 1 — the start of the next fiscal year — when funds become available.
The likelihood cultural resources are present at the site is lower than the ridge near the Strange, Stanley and Waldrop property.
Higgins described the 16th section investment as “a middle of the road” option when compared to the proposed 400-acre park and Cornerstone improvements.
‘Settling’ on Cornerstone
The LINK’s third proposal would simply clear a large number of trees from Cornerstone Park’s undeveloped areas and have officials sit back and wait for a pledged electrical capacity increase in 2018.
Since the industrial park is county owned and infrastructure is in place, a small investment — $225,000 — for clearing and grubbing efforts would be needed from supervisors and aldermen.
About 160 acres of developable land are available at the park, but its 2 megawatt electrical capacity keeps Cornerstone from becoming a serious contender in industrial recruitment.
4-County is expected to increase the capacity to 10 megawatts, but Higgins said certain upgrades could boost the total to 20 megawatts.
Higgins said this option would be the equivalent of county officials “settling for what they already have.”
If officials are not willing to broach the Strange, Stanley and Waldrop property plan, Higgins acknowledged moving forward with a joint 16th section-Cornerstone plan would be the next best option to gain traction for industrial recruitment efforts.
“Site selection has been all-consuming. We’re working on just this and cannot pursue big projects. We need to get (determining an industrial park location in Oktibbeha County) off the stove,” he said. “The first option is the best thing you can do, but it’s going to cost a buttload of money.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 38 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 38 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
