- Grant funds will be used to extend industrial-grade utilities into the Lawrenceburg Industrial Park
LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter announced today 15 new Site Development Grant recipients.
The grants, totaling more than $17 million, are designed to help communities invest in infrastructure and engineering improvements to land economic development projects and achieve Select Tennessee site certification. Lawrence County will receive $4.5 million to extend water, sewer, and natural gas infrastructure into the certified Lawrenceburg Industrial Park and to acquire property required for its future development. A full list of grant recipients can be found here.
“What happens in rural Tennessee matters to all Tennesseans, and we’ve made significant investments to strengthen the skilled workforce in our rural counties,” said Lee. “TNECD’s Site Development grant program further supports those efforts by creating high-quality jobs for thousands of Tennesseans across our state and spurring future economic growth.”
“From Memphis to Mountain City, Tennessee has so many rural communities,” said McWhorter. “Economic growth in our rural regions is vital to our future, and I’m grateful to all involved for helping make this round of grants happen.”
Applications were reviewed by an advisory committee made up of TNECD, Austin Consulting, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Each application was supported by the community’s senator and representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly.
The Site Development Grant program is part of the Rural Economic Opportunity Act, which provides funding to improve the economies of Tennessee’s rural communities. Since 2016, TNECD has awarded 180 Site Development Grants across the state, totaling nearly $100 million in assistance to local communities and generating 7,011 new jobs for Tennesseans. The Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce has partnered with TNECD and local leaders to secure nearly $7 million in site development grants since the program’s inception. Funding has been used to improve industrial access roads, conduct due diligence studies, expand site inventory, and will now be used to extend industrial-grade utility infrastructure for future use.
“When we host prospective businesses, one of the first topics of discussion includes local utility capacity and the time required to build infrastructure to serve their business,” explained Vic Pusser, CEO of Lawrenceburg Utility Systems (LUS). “LUS is proud to partner with the Chamber and the Joint Economic & Community Development Board of Lawrence County to complete this project and give prospects confidence that we are prepared to serve their operations.”
“Industrial site development is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Lawrence County Chamber President & CEO Ryan Egly. “It has taken us nearly a decade to get to this point and this project ensures that our site—and our community at-large—is competitively positioned to recruit new businesses that will create new job opportunities for the region.”
About the Chamber
The Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce is a network of businesses, industries, local governments, utilities, and private citizens that are committed to improving the quality of life in Lawrence County, Tennessee through economic development, community development, tourism marketing, and workforce development.
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Kristin Doss
kristin@lawcotn.com
