After considering a request issued by Lawrenceburg Mayor Keith Durham, members of the Lawrence County Board of Commissioners have voted to recommend that land be deeded for construction of a spec building inside Team Lawrence Commerce Park.
Durham addressed the commission during the regular bi-monthly business meeting on Tuesday.
During their January 12 meeting, members of the Lawrenceburg Board of Mayor and Council voted to work toward a joint construction project inside the now-vacant industrial park, in the hopes of drawing potential industry to the area.
Durham proposed that the city partner with county government, the local industrial board and the Joint Economic and Community Development Board, to construct a building on a ten-acre parcel situated at the northeast corner of the property.
Leaders wish to construction a metal, prefabricated building with a minimum of 50,000 square feet, 34 foot high eaves, with provisions for 5,000 square feet of office space, and an unfinished interior. Once sold, the occupant would then complete the interior as needed.
Durham told commissioners, “The nature of industrial recruitment these days is totally different than it was even five years ago. It’s highly competitive, and for lack of better words, communities have to buy jobs.” He explained, “Other communities do that and we do see jobs going to those communities.”
Durham pointed out that when a new or expanding industry looks for a new site, time is an important factor.
“Site selection committees are tasked with getting the facility up and running and the product to the market as quick as possible.
It’s very rare these days that you find a site selection committee looking for what we call a green field site – a location with no building on it at all. In fact, I’ve been in government here for nine years, and I can’t remember a time that a company came to our community and had a green field project. Everything that we’ve landed has gone into existing facilities.”
Durham pointed out, “Our community doesn’t have the type of facility that these site selection committees are looking for. “
Durham told the commission that eave heights are extremely important. While there are several locations available locally that are suited for warehousing, etc., Durham said there are none suited for manufacturing.
He said there is much space available inside the old Murray building, but that the eaves are only around 18 feet tall. “That’s just not conducive to today’s industrial purposes,” Durham explained. The proposed spec building, he pointed out, would have an eave height of between 30 and 34 feet.
Having a building, with an unfinished interior, Durham said, would, “Give us a leg up on the processes involved.” Inside the City of Lawrenceburg, Durham said there is a minimum two-month process involved in obtaining approval through the city’s Planning Commission.
“There’s two months,” he said, “even before you get to break ground…If we had a building on the ground, those types of issues would already be out of the way.”
Durham pointed out, “We want the building to be the most marketable building that we can build.”
After considering the request, members of the commission opted to recommend that the county’s Industrial Development Board deed to the city, the ten acres requested for the project.
Under the plan, the county would receive payment for the land after the property is sold.
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