FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 16, 2021) – As Kentucky reaches a historic level of economic momentum, the demand for state-of-the-art sites to support growing businesses in the commonwealth has never been greater. Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Eddyville’s local leadership will move forward with upgrades to the Eddyville Industrial Park, the result of a long-term development plan to create a rail-served industrial park.
“This has been an incredible year for economic growth in Kentucky, but we are just getting started. Demand for the commonwealth’s sites and buildings has never been greater, and we need to provide companies with quality locations to make sure we stand out against the competition,” Gov. Beshear said. “We must ensure our communities are ready for new business by taking proactive measures like infrastructure investment, and I congratulate the local leadership in Eddyville for their efforts to continue providing quality jobs in the region.”
The development project at Eddyville Industrial Park is designed to bring in new, large-scale companies and encourage smaller-scale industrial growth, both of which greatly benefit the community as it prepares for the future. The proposed upgrades will expand the park through the construction of new building pads and utility extension plans to create a premier rail-served industrial park, which positions Kentucky to attract even more large-scale investments.
The Lyon County location was selected for funding through the Product Development Initiative (PDI) in 2020. PDI was created through a partnership between the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and the Kentucky Association for Economic Development (KAED) to provide competitive grants to Kentucky economic development organizations and local governments to supplement site and building improvement projects. PDI aims to create jobs and corporate investment by enhancing the quality and quantity of Kentucky’s available sites and buildings. As well, it encourages collaboration among Kentucky economic developers and stakeholders with an emphasis on speed-to-market to help new and expanding businesses quickly find suitable locations in Kentucky.
Matt Tackett, president and CEO of KAED, said PDI helps communities take a major step forward to quickly bring in new business.
“Global enterprise is well-aware of the undeniable advantage of doing business in the commonwealth, and PDI is a key tool that bolsters our ability to provide companies with quick and risk-free site selection experiences. KAED congratulates the leadership team in Lyon County for winning a PDI grant, strategically investing in a key regional asset and accelerating economic opportunity in Kentucky.”
PDI boosts the commonwealth’s ability to attract a diverse base of businesses of every size. This adds to the state’s numerous other advantages, including its ideal geographic location with its borders within a day’s drive of two-thirds of the U.S. population, the lowest industrial electric costs east of the Mississippi River and a skilled workforce ready to meet the needs of any company.
Billy Ray Coursey, board chair of Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority, said the investment in a build-ready site with high accessibility is a big win for the community.
“The Product Development Initiative and the investment in the build-ready site has created a momentum for our organization to invest in additional infrastructure planning and development within the industrial park,” Coursey said. “We are looking forward to having a build-ready site that has access to rail, river and road in our community. The partnership between the community, Cabinet for Economic Development and KAED to develop competitive sites is a win for us all.”
Lyon County Judge/Executive Wade White expressed his gratitude for the PDI program and the impact it has on rural communities like Eddyville.
“We are thankful for the PDI program and the support to develop high-quality sites in small communities,” Judge/Executive White said. “The PDI program shows that rural communities are competitive and ready for project attraction. We look forward to more collaboration between the local development team and our partners at the state.”
Eddyville Mayor John Choat shared his excitement to expand on the local efforts already made to the park to attract new projects to the area.
“We are happy to have this investment in our community. Programs like the Product Development Initiative expand on the local investments made to build the Eddyville Industrial Park,” Mayor Choat said. “Utilizing funds from the Product Development Initiative to develop a build-ready pad show that we are serious about economic development and ready for new projects.”
Amanda Davenport, Lake Barkley Partnership executive director, said winning a PDI grant shows the community is serious about bringing in new opportunities and investments.
“Working with KAED, KCED and our local stakeholders to have the vision for new product development is a success for Kentucky,” Davenport said. “We are leading the way to invest in our existing parks to serve projects of all sizes. Receiving funds from the PDI program to construct a building pad shows that we are serious about our product development and that we are excited to make new investments in the community.”
Investment in the Lyon County site furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth, as the state surges ahead in response to the effects of the pandemic.
This year, the commonwealth has shattered every economic development record in the books for yearly investment totals. Year-to-date, private-sector new-location and expansion announcements include over $10 billion in total planned investment and commitments to create 15,200-plus full-time jobs across the coming years. Through September, Kentucky’s average incentivized hourly wage is $24.15 before benefits, a 10% increase over the previous year.
In September, Gov. Beshear, Ford Motor Co. Executive Chair Bill Ford, CEO Jim Farley and Dong-Seob Jee, president of SK Innovation’s battery business, announcedthe single largest economic development project in the history of the commonwealth, celebrating a transformative $5.8 billion investment that will create 5,000 jobs and places Kentucky at the forefront of the automotive industry’s future.
In July, thanks to strong fiscal management by the Beshear administration, the state budget office reported the commonwealth ended the 2021 fiscal year with a general fund surplus of over $1.1 billion – the highest ever in the commonwealth – and a 10.9% increase in general fund receipts to $12.8 billion.
In May, Moody’s Analytics published a positive economic outlook for Kentucky, noting mass vaccination as the driving force behind a sustained recovery in consumer services. The state’s recovery, Moody’s said, benefited from earlier reopening efforts and increased demand for manufactured goods over services. The report also found Kentucky’s manufacturing industry outperformed the nation’s since the national downturn last year.
Fitch Ratings in May improved the state’s financial outlook to stable, reflecting the commonwealth’s solid economic recovery. The state’s April sales tax receipts set an all-time monthly record at $486.5 million, as did vehicle usage tax receipts at over $64 million.
In March, Site Selection magazine’s annual Governor’s Cup rankings for 2020 positioned Kentucky atop the South Central region, and third nationally, for qualifying projects per capita. The commonwealth also placed seventh overall in total projects, the highest of any state with a population under 5 million. Site Selection also recently placed Kentucky in a tie for fifth in its 2021 Prosperity Cup rankings, positioning the state among the national leaders for business climate.
To encourage future investment and location of an economic development project, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in October approved a grant agreement with the Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority under the Economic Development Fund program. The grant agreement may provide up to $75,000 in funding on a reimbursement basis based on the project investment of $179,895.
For more information on the Product Development Initiative, click here.
A detailed community profile for Lyon County can be viewed here.
Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.
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