John Coffelt, Editor

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter announced today 11 new Site Development Grant recipients.

Industrial Board of Coffee County Manchester Industrial Park received $1,610,450 for sewer infrastructure improvements.

“This marks a significant milestone in our infrastructure development efforts,” said Anne Hosea-Majors, Industrial Board of Coffee County Executive Director.

“This project, made possible through our partnership with the City of Manchester, reinforces our commitment to providing our industries with the infrastructure they need to thrive. Strong partnerships create strong communities,” she said.

The grants, totaling more than $17 million across the state, are designed to help communities invest in infrastructure and engineering improvements to land economic development projects and achieve Select Tennessee site certification.

“A shovel-ready industrial site can be the deciding factor for a company looking to do business in Tennessee, and that’s why our efforts are critical to community and economic development,” said Gov. Lee. “I congratulate the communities receiving funding through this round of grants and look forward to seeing the growth our investment in these sites will bring.”

The Site Development Grant program is part of the Rural Economic Opportunity Act, which provides funding to improve the economies of Tennessee’s rural communities. Since 2016, TNECD has awarded 191 Site Development Grants across the state, totaling nearly $100 million in assistance to local communities and generating 7,091 new jobs for Tennesseans.

“Eleven Tennessee communities are one step closer to achieving Select Tennessee Site certification through today’s announcement,” said Commissioner McWhorter. “Tennessee’s rural communities are the backbone of our state, and I applaud the local leaders who have taken the necessary steps to set each of these communities up for future economic investment and job creation.”

The grants awarded this round also include:

City of Trenton Economic and Industrial Development Board

Trenton IDB Building, $20,000 – Due diligence

City of Union City, Tennessee

Northwest TN Regional Industrial Center, $1,100,000 – Property clearing and grading

Clarksville-Montgomery County Area Economic Development Council, Inc.

Clarksville Montgomery County North Industrial Park, $600,000 – Access road construction and due diligence

Industrial Development Board of the City of Morristown, Tennessee

East TN Progress Center Lot 10, $4,000,000 – Speculative building construction

Industrial Development Board of the County of Benton

Smith Property, $1,937,050 – Property purchase

The Industrial Development Board of Fentress County

Clarkrange Regional Business Park, $100,000 – Due diligence

The Industrial Development Board of Scott County, Tennessee

Airport Industrial Site, $66,500 – Due diligence

The Industrial Development Board of the City of Fayetteville and Lincoln County, Tennessee

Runway Centre Industrial Park, $3,500,000 – Speculative building construction

The Industrial Development Board of the County of Bradley and the City of Cleveland, Tennessee

Spring Branch Industrial Park Lots 8 & 9, $2,946,186 – Property grading

The Paris – Henry County Industrial Committee

Paris-Henry County Industrial Park, $1,123,760 – Property clearing and due diligence

Applications were reviewed by an advisory committee made up of TNECD, Austin Consulting, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Each application was supported by the community’s senator and representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.