Expanding job opportunities on several fronts has helped Madison County flourish even as one of its bigger employers prepares to shut down.
“Richmond is a fast-growing city,” said David Stipes, executive director of Richmond Industrial Development Corporation, “and from all projections, it will continue growing.” Stipes cites the city’s location along the I-75 corridor as attractive for manufacturers. Fifteen miles south of Richmond, also along I-75, the city of Berea is also growing. Leaders of both cities are working together to attract new businesses to Madison County.
Those efforts paid off when AppHarvest, a Kentucky-based company that operates high-tech indoor farms, opened two large growing facilities in the county, including a 15-acre indoor farm dedicated to growing greens in Berea in 2022. “Once we get that fully ramped up, we expect to be growing about 35 million lettuce plants at a time,” said Travis Parman, spokesperson for AppHarvest. “The harvest will be equivalent to 10 miles of rows a day when we’re at full production.”
Ag-tech company AppHarvest has opened two two high-tech greenhouses in Madison County during the past year.
The company opened a 60-acre indoor farm in Richmond to grow tomatoes last December and began commercial shipments in January. Parman said that the 60-acre facility will support about 720,000 tomato plants when operating at full capacity.
AppHarvest recently completed a sale/ leaseback deal for the Berea farm with Mastronardi Berea LLC, a joint venture of Mastronardi Produce and an international investment firm. Mastronardi Produce is AppHarvest’s distributor. “It had been our growth strategy all along to leverage assets for additional growth opportunities,” Parman said. “AppHarvest aspires to create a network of 12 farms … in central Appalachia, where the jobs are most needed.”
Business growth in Madison County is also supported by its proximity to Lexington. Commerce Lexington works with surrounding counties to attract business and promote the region’s central location. “A big portion of the Eastern Seaboard can be reached within a seven- or eight-hour drive from Berea, and that makes us ideally located for distribution of anything, from automotive parts to agricultural produce,” said Berea Mayor Bruce Fraley.
It is essential for the county to establish a diverse and thriving business base, especially as its largest city is set to lose one of the area’s largest employers. The Bluegrass Army Depot in Richmond has been conducting a chemical weapons destruction program that employs about 1,600 people with high-paying jobs. The years-long project is approaching completion as the last of what was originally 523 tons of chemical weapons are scheduled to be destroyed by the end of September. “After all the agents are destroyed, there’s still a two-to three-year operational phase called closure,” said Craig Williams, executive director of the Kentucky Environmental Foundation. As closure proceeds, the program will employ fewer and fewer people.
“Madison County is anticipated to lose about $1.1 million a year in payroll taxes, in addition to losing $1.5 million annually in emergency preparedness funds from FEMA. Collectively, it’s a huge economic impact on the county,” Williams said.
The Bluegrass Area Development District received a grant from the Defense Department and has formed an economic resiliency committee, of which Williams is a member, comprising civic, governmental and business leaders. “We’re trying to do our best to mitigate the obvious economic downturn and its impacts once this program ends,” said Williams. The committee is currently engaged in research and will be making recommendations.
Recent business expansions and planned developments throughout the county should help stem the economic impact.
Fraley cites a recent $25.7 million plant expansion at Hyster-Yale, an international company that has manufactured forklifts in Berea since 1973. In 2021, the Hitachi Automotive Systems America plant opened to manufacture electric motors for Honda. In anticipation of more manufacturers locating in the area, MP Kelley, a design and construction company based in Richmond, recently built a 50,000-square-foot spec building in Berea that can be expanded to 92,000 square feet. That MP Kelley would do a major construction project without a tenant, Fraley said, shows that Berea is a good investment with a bright future.
Stipes said that plant expansions in Richmond are also happening, especially in the automotive supply industries. Richmond is also looking toward the future by establishing a 175,000-square-foot, build-ready pad with utilities ready to connect. “So, if we have a factory that comes to town that needs to start building immediately, we have a site ready,” he said.
Preparing residents for current and future job opportunities is also a priority.
“We have a lot of businesses here constantly needing employees,” Stipes said. He said that the current workforce doesn’t meet the needs in many cases. “There’s been a rapid uptake of single-family homes and apartments for people who come to Richmond for the jobs. We also have a rising workforce through our high schools and colleges each year, and we want to keep that workforce at home, if we can do that,” he said.
The Madison County school system founded Ignite Academy to better prepare students for careers. With campuses in Richmond and Berea, Ignite offers high school students career and technical education in different career paths. Chris Clark, principal of Ignite in Richmond, stressed that it’s not a vocational or trade school lining up youth for specific jobs upon graduation, and it’s also not about preparing students for college. “It’s about preparing kids to transition to their next phase of life doing something they’re passionate about, so they can make a good living for themselves and their families and be contributing members of the community,” Clark said.
The Madison County school system is the largest employer in Richmond. EKU, with more than 14,000 students, is also a significant employer. “We generate almost $600 million a year in economic activity in this community,” said EKU President David McFadden. “Nearly 20% of all jobs here can be linked to EKU.”
“Our manufacturing base is critically important to our future,” McFadden said. He emphasized the importance of the EKU manufacturing engineering program to meet the region’s industry needs. EKU is launching an advanced manufacturing engineering degree program in the fall — the first of its kind in Kentucky.
Berea College is also feeling the pull of advancing industry. “Our two most significant projects right now are a new building that houses all of our technology programs,” said President Lyle Roelofs. “A second phase of that project will develop new facilities for our program that support engineering education and advanced manufacturing.”
Berea has been named the Folk Arts and Crafts Capital of Kentucky. The city’s downtown Artisan Village District includes more than a dozen shops and galleries.
Berea College, founded in 1855, is also known for its heritage and as one of the top tourist destinations in Kentucky. The college owns 9,000 acres of forest featuring the celebrated Pinnacles hiking trails, and the city has restaurants amidst colorful shops. “We have long been known for our artisanship programs,” said Roelofs, “and many of the students we train stick around and have contributed significantly to the arts community in the area. That’s part of what draws many visitors to southern Madison County.”
Studios and galleries along College Square and in the Old Town of Berea offer a wide range of arts and crafts.
“We have 21 working artist studios,” said Donna Angel, director of business development and tourism in Berea. “That sets us apart from other cities, and these artists are terrific in engaging the visitors who come to our town and shop.”
When a bus pulls off I-75 onto Berea exit 77, the first thing riders see is the grand Kentucky Artisans Center. “We see almost 400 motor coaches a year,” said Todd Finley, executive director of the center, “and anywhere from 250,000 to 300,000 folks a year.” Kentucky Artisans Center is a state-run enterprise founded 20 years ago to subsidize Kentucky artists and artisans. “We have grown from 200 artists to over 850,” Finley said. “We buy from Kentucky artists and resell their artwork. We support their small businesses, and that money stays in Kentucky.”