Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter announced today six new Site Development Grant recipients. The grants, totaling more than $6 million, are designed to help communities invest in infrastructure and engineering improvements to land economic development projects and achieve Select Tennessee site certification.
“What happens in rural Tennessee matters to all of Tennessee, and today’s grant announcement marks another step forward in creating greater economic opportunity across our state,” said Gov. Lee. “I thank our local leaders for their partnership to drive growth in their communities that will in turn attract future investment and job creation.”
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 197 Site Development Grants across the state, totaling over $120 million in assistance to local communities and generating 7,459 new jobs for Tennesseans.
“TNECD’s Site Development program is vital to attracting economic development opportunities in our local communities,” said Commissioner McWhorter. “Just last month, we announced a major project on one of our state’s certified sites – proof that having shovel-ready industrial sites gives Tennessee a competitive edge – and we're excited that seven more communities are now moving closer to earning this valuable certification.”
The grants awarded this round include:
City of Bartlett, Tennessee: Bartlett Innovation Park, $100,000 – Due diligence
Town of Livingston, Tennessee: Livingston Industrial Site, $1,000,000 – Property grading
City of Milan, Tennessee: Milan Arsenal Property, $241,769 – Master planning and sewer infrastructure design
Knox County Industrial Development Board: Eastbridge Business Park, $3,962,056.25 – Property grading
Morgan County Economic Development Board: Darnell Property, $658,922.40 – Property purchase
Town of Winfield, Tennessee: Winfield Industrial Park, $100,000 – 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.