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Gadsden County economic development director outlines $82 million pipeline, wins $500,000 EPA brownfields grant
Summary
TJ Lewis, the county’s director of economic development, told commissioners the office has 15 active projects worth about $82 million in prospective investment, highlighted a landed green‑manufacturing project and said the county won a $500,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant to fund countywide site evaluations.
TJ Lewis, Gadsden County’s director of economic development, told the county commission on Wednesday that his newly formed office is pursuing 15 active projects with a combined potential investment of about $82 million and an estimated 350 prospective jobs.
Lewis said the department, established in 2023, has focused on making site data and permitting information available via a new portal, gadsdenbiz.com, and on packaging incentives and analytics to make the county easier for site selectors to evaluate. ‘‘We offer market intelligence and permitting resources,’’ Lewis said, summarizing tools that his office has built to attract companies.
He detailed several recent wins and programs. The county won a $75,000 grant to update its strategic sites inventory, and Lewis announced a $500,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant that will fund four years of community‑wide site assessments, from Chattahoochee to Midway. ‘‘This is an assessment grant,’’ Lewis said; the funding will be used to inventory and prioritize potentially contaminated commercial properties so the county can pursue larger cleanup dollars later.
Lewis also described a landed project the office is calling ‘‘Project Carrot,’’ a green‑manufacturing firm that has purchased property, started permitting and is proposing an initial $10 million investment. He said the company has indicated it may expand the plan to create roughly 50–60 jobs, up from an earlier 25‑job estimate. Lewis said growth‑management staff and the company ‘‘moved so quickly’’ that the firm consolidated more capacity into Gadsden County.
Commissioners praised the presentation and asked for follow‑up data. Chair and several commissioners asked staff to provide one‑page summaries and a county highlights booklet so constituents can better understand new projects and grant awards. Several commissioners suggested convening a strategic planning session to align county priorities with the projects Lewis described.
Lewis told the board the department has already driven traffic to the new site (about 2,800 visitors and 156 direct inquiries this year) and is working with partners — including the Gadsden County Chamber and regional economic organizations — to advance prospective investments. ‘‘We’re being responsive to every business that contacts Gadsden County so we can strike when they’re hot,’’ he said.
The commission did not take formal action on the presentation but directed staff to provide follow‑up materials and continue outreach.
