by Jon Styf
Tennessee has committed to hand out $17.9 million in grants for the development of 12 sites in order to prepare those sites for potential businesses.
The grants are part of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s Site Development Grant program, which began in 2016.
The state awarded $5 million to Commerce Park Interstate Site in Dyer County for speculative building development.
The state also promised $3 million to Hamilton County for water infrastructure at McDonald Farm. The farm was included in Beacon Center’s Pork Report for wasteful government spending in 2023 after the Hamilton County Commission spent $100,000 to review a sinkhole on the property, purchased for $16 million two years ago by the county with no future plans.
Senate Finance Chair Bo Watson, R-Hixson, pointed to the McDonald Farm grant as a responsible source of state spending.
“Infrastructure continues to be a focus of our State’s financial resources,” Watson (pictured above) wrote on social media. “It ain’t sexy, but it is essential to economic and community development. Congratulations to Hamilton County as a grant recipient.”
Greene County will receive $2.1 million for property grading at the Snapps Ferry Property while Haywood County will receive $2 million for access road construction to I-40 Advantage Industrial Park.
TNECD will send $2 million to Bristol Tennessee Essential Services for property grading at Bristol Industrial Park. Greenfield will receive nearly $2 million toward access road construction, tree and property clearing and both water and sewer infrastructure at the Greenfield-Pentecost Property.
TNECD also awarded nearly $800,000 to Oak Ridge for access road construction, clearing and due diligence at Horizon Center Industrial Park along with $740,000 for tree and property clearing at Henderson Industrial Park.
The Bristol South Industrial Park, Watson Property (Bolivar), East Moon Property in Franklin and City Industrial Park in Livingston also received $100,000 or less in grants.
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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter of The Center Square who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies.
