Cornerstone Park could again become a viable option for smaller industrial developments next year once a new 4-County Electric Power Association substation boosts the area’s power capacity.
The estimated $3 million project, which will install a transformer rated up to 30 megawatts in the Bluefield Road area, should be complete in March, 4-County Manager of Engineering Lynn Timbrook confirmed Wednesday.
While the new substation will provide an overall boost to the power grid serving the area south of the Highway 12-Highway 25 bypass, a specific circuit feeding the fledgling industrial park will increase its capacity from a residential load — about 2-5 megawatts — to 10 megawatts.
Timbrook said 4-County estimates placing a 15-megawatt peak load on the new substation in its initial operation, but the site will be built to handle a second transformer if residential, commercial and industrial developments in the area require more electricity in the future.
“We’re making decisions based upon the loads that are present and the ones we can reasonably predict will grow into the power system. You build what you need to start with,” Timbrook said. “It’s not a ‘If you build it, they will come’ scenario, because investments absolutely might not. But if you look at where your loads are showing as growing, those bypass areas are popular areas. Sometimes it takes a few years to catch up and see the development for itself.”
The new substation will also service customers from the New Light Road area to Poor House Road and South Montgomery Street. Its construction will also free up capacity at the two substations powering the outlying county areas southwest of Starkville, Timbrook said.
Cornerstone Park’s lack of power has long been cited by Golden Triangle Development LINK officials as a deal-killer for attracting industry to roughly 160-acre area.
Last year, the industrial development firm suggested city and county officials invest about $225,000 toward clearing and grubbing the area ahead of 4-County’s expected project, but Chief Executive Officer Joe Max Higgins said tenants were unlikely to seriously consider building in Cornerstone Park until its electrical capacity was improved.
Other issues at the park, he said, prevent it from drawing large-scale developments in the future, despite 4-County’s commitment.
Water and sewer collection remains problematic at the site, portions of Cornerstone Park are now defined as wetlands by the Army Corps of Engineers due to a lack of maintenance and the area is not equipped to serve customers with natural gas needs, Higgins said.
Additionally, he said, permitting issues will remain in the future as Cornerstone Park was never properly platted with the city.
“For these reasons, the LINK views this park as a ‘shade and shelter’ property best suited for small entities seeking (a location in Oktibbeha County),” he said. “The Mississippi Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol facilities are good examples of what would possibly continue to locate at Cornerstone. At best, it will be a three-tier park.”
If constructed, a proposed 360-acre advanced manufacturing park will locate near the Highway 82-Highway 389 intersection. The LINK-backed development, which is currently delayed by a lawsuit, is expected to compete for larger industries with its expected 60-megawatt capacity.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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