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Economic development director: South Cooper Industrial Park adding infrastructure, $3M in grants
Summary
Maureen Carpenter told the Barren County court that South Cooper Industrial Park has a newly enclosed 100,000 sq ft speculative building, a 50,000 sq ft lot under construction, and infrastructure extensions funded by bond proceeds and about $3,000,000 in grants; work came in under budget, allowing extra gas line extension and site improvements.
Maureen Carpenter, director of the Barren County Economic Authority, briefed the Fiscal Court on progress at South Cooper Industrial Park, saying the authority has completed major site work and secured grant and bond funding to provide infrastructure for speculative industrial buildings.
Carpenter described Lot 7 as a 100,000-square-foot speculative building that is now enclosed and expected to be finished in July, and Lot 1 as a 50,000-square-foot building due in August. The authority plans to extend an access road roughly 2,500 feet to reach the back of the property and will install natural gas, water, fiber and sewer so each lot will have full infrastructure.
"Part of this funding is the bond funds that you all approved several years ago," Carpenter said, and she added the authority also has "about $3,000,000 in grants" to cover construction. She told the court that the project came in significantly under budget, which allowed the authority to extend the gas line farther than originally planned.
Carpenter said site grading is under way on two additional pads and that marketing outreach (including a recent press release to site consultants and a SelectUSA appearance) has generated interest from multiple sectors, from food manufacturers to cold-storage and EV supply-chain firms.
The judge thanked Carpenter and the court acknowledged the update. No formal action was required beyond the informational presentation; the court earlier approved a resolution to pursue House Bill 1 multi-county grant opportunities that could support such projects.
