NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development today announced that three sites have been certified through the Select Tennessee Certified Sites program.
Sixty-five sites across Tennessee have been certified to date. The newest certified sites and their local sponsoring agencies include:
Columbia Tennessee Rail Site – Maury County Chamber & Economic Alliance
Stewart-Houston Industrial Park – Stewart-Houston Industrial Board
Huntingdon Industrial Park South – Carroll County Chamber of Commerce
The Select Tennessee Certified Sites program has helped communities prepare industrial sites for private investment and job creation since 2012. The program sets rigorous standards to give companies detailed and reliable information during the site selection process.
“The Select Tennessee Certified Sites program provides long term economic development opportunities for communities across the state,” TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe said. “Shovel-ready sites are enormous drivers of private capital investment, with companies investing nearly $2 billion on projects locating on certified sites. We congratulate these three communities for taking the steps to achieve this certification and look forward to the additional growth that will take place in the years ahead.”
The certification process ensures that each certified site meets high quality standards and are primed for development. Certified sites must have documented environmental conditions and geotechnical analysis, existing onsite utilities or a formal plan to extend utilities to the site, and truck-quality road access. TNECD has partnered with Austin Consulting to administer the certified sites program.
“The Select Tennessee Certified Site Program awards communities – whether rural or more populated – for their investment of time, effort, and resources,” said Jonathan Gemmen, senior director, Austin Consulting. “This program’s strong certification requirements send a message to prospects that each property with this designation – whether large or small – is ready for development.”
In response to changing market dynamics and the impact of COVID-19 across the state, TNECD recently made an adjustment to its certification requirements, which allowed two of the three sites to achieve certification.
Sites in Tier 3 or Tier 4 counties with at least 15 developable acres that are part of an industrial park and meet all other standards of certification are now eligible for certification. Reducing the number of acres required from 20 to 15 in industrial parks allows Tennessee’s most rural communities to meet the rigorous Select Tennessee standards for site certification while targeting companies that fit the labor market of those communities.
To learn more about the Select Tennessee Certified Sites program, visit tnecd.com/sites/certified-sites/apply-now/.