Robards, KY – Gov. Steve Beshear Monday joined community leaders to announce that Henderson County is home to the first industrial site to be officially certified under Kentucky’s new Build-Ready program.
Build-Ready, launched by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development earlier this year, is a cost-effective way for communities to distinguish their list of available industrial sites to meet the needs of today’s site selectors.
In addition to shovel-ready sites and pre-existing buildings, communities now have the option of proactively preparing and marketing land to potential companies without assuming all the risk and cost of constructing a building.
“The Build-Ready program is a win-win for communities and companies,” Beshear said in a news release. “Build-Ready is intended to give communities an advantage in attracting new businesses. With Build-Ready, all the obstacles have been removed and the red tape has been cut so businesses can start construction right away, drastically shortening the time it takes to be operational.”
The 52-acre site is located within the 4-Star Industrial Park off Interstate 69. The park, which is jointly owned by Henderson, McLean, Union and Webster counties, is served by an adjacent power plant, water and sewage plants.
With a Build-Ready site, much of the work – other than actual construction – has already been completed. That includes having community control of the land to be developed, preparing a building pad (prepared ground/soil/environmental studies), conducting preliminary design work, including project costs and construction timeframes, obtaining approved site plan permits and having necessary utility and transportation infrastructure in place.
Communities that meet the minimum standards for each requirement of the Build-Ready program will reduce the time it takes a company to select a site, construct a new building and begin operations. By expediting the timeline and putting companies in operation faster, communities will make their sites more attractive to companies and site selectors, the news release said.
Build-Ready sites will receive special designation on the Cabinet’s SelectKentucky.com website and other collateral materials that will be marketed around the world.
“I’m very proud for the distinction of our site being named the first Build-Ready certified site in Kentucky,” said Webster County Judge-Executive Jim Townsend. “We work hard to make sure we have the facilities and utilities needed to support manufacturers and businesses. To have a certified Build-Ready site in our 4-Star Industrial Park lets industries looking our way know that we are ahead of the curve and ready to get to work.”