The Golden Triangle Development LINK is expected to ask Oktibbeha County supervisors and Starkville aldermen to issue a combined $10 million in economic development bonds this spring for an industrial park in the western portion of the city.
Joey Deason, Oktibbeha County’s LINK representative, told members of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership’s Committee of 100 that the bonds should be issued in April but no later than May.
Last year, both aldermen and supervisors issued bond intent notices for the park, dubbed the Innovation District, in an attempt to finally make the county a viable competitor in the world of industrial recruiting.
The LINK identified 326 acres of rolling hills and open farm land near the Highway 182-Highway 25 interchange for the advanced manufacturing site, which officials hope will attract more than 1,000 jobs in the future.
Now, the notices are coming up on their respective deadlines for action — June for the county and September for the city. Officials can lower fees if both governments issue the bonds at the same time, Deason said.
The $10 million will go toward installing infrastructure — water, sewer, electrical, transportation and others — in the area, but the LINK’s improvement plan could be expanded by Tennessee Valley Authority grant funding.
Deason said the organization will apply for TVA’s $500,000 investment preparation grant, which requires some matching funding. If the county receives the award, Deason said the LINK could increase a planned two-lane road to four lanes and add additional landscaping options.
“We’re marketing the park as we speak, but we’re somewhat hesitant to really push it out there as it stands,” he said. “We want to complete all of our due diligence first. We don’t want to have a prospect come out, see the site, get excited and then have things fall through.”
Starkville is expected to spread its debt service — estimated last year at about $400,000 annually — across 20 years, and a 2-mill property tax increase is expected to follow once bonds are issued.
A similar financing package is expected from the county.
Last year, aldermen rezoned the area’s parcels to an M-1’s industrial designation, which allows for a range of light manufacturing options. Covenants, conditions and restrictions (CCR) agreements are also in development to help the LINK control the Innovation District’s growth while also ensuring all tenants and the LINK itself remain good stewards of property and respectful of neighbors of homeowners in the area.
The proposed industrial park is projected to provide about 1 million square feet of building space. About 1,300 or more jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues could follow depending on the LINK’s success with attracting investments.
“It’s exciting that we’re beginning to transition from the planning phase of this project to the implementation phase,” said Mayor Parker Wiseman. “This will be the most significant industrial development program initiated in Starkville in over a quarter century.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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