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Local EDA reports purchase of 280 acres for industrial inventory; road funding request expected in spring
Summary
The Economic Development Authority told the City Commission it has added about 280 acres to the county’s development inventory — a 79-acre purchase completed June 20, 2024 and a 201-acre Redding property closed in late 2024 — and that the EDA will seek additional funding to build a road from Stewarts Lane to the new property.
Mr. Crowley, chair of the locally formed Economic Development Authority, briefed the City Commission on Jan. 27 about recent land acquisitions intended to expand the county’s industrial inventory and the next capital need: a connecting roadway.
Crowley said the EDA completed a 79-acre purchase on June 20, 2024 after receiving Kentucky Product Development Initiative grant funding of about $744,000; the city and county matched the grant on a 50/50 basis. The authority also negotiated and closed on the 201-acre Redding property in late 2024. "The EDA on behalf of the city and county has now acquired 280 acres of property," he said, and added that roughly 115 acres of the Redding tract are zoned industrial, with the remainder partly residential and commercial/agricultural; the Redding site also includes a roughly 15-acre pond.
Nut graf: The acquisitions increase marketable land for job-creation prospects but require infrastructure investment. Crowley told the commission the EDA needs a road from Stewarts Lane to connect the new acreage to the bypass; the authority has roughly $260,000–$290,000 to start the road once the city audit is approved and will return with additional funding requests this spring.
Crowley referenced state statutory authorities for interlocal cooperation (KRS 65.21) and the industrial development authority authorizing statutes (KRS 154.5–301) in describing the EDA’s legal basis and said staff are preparing a strategic plan for longer-range development and infrastructure sequencing in the corridor.
Ending: The commission acknowledged the need for a strategic transportation and infrastructure plan for the west side of town and indicated it expects to consider EDA funding requests for roadway construction when staff present specific cost estimates and timelines in coming months.
