Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted continued momentum of Kentucky’s site development efforts on Monday, May 1 with the announcement of two new “Build-Ready” locations in Lyon County, putting the area in a position for future economic success.

According to a news release, the Lyon County sites, located at 1000 Industrial Park Road in Eddyville Industrial Park and publicly owned by the Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority, add to the state’s list of properties certified by Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development as “Build-Ready.” These sites are available statewide for companies looking to locate in the commonwealth and start construction and operations quickly.

“Kentucky’s Build-Ready program has grown throughout the last several years, and I’m excited to see that momentum continuing in Lyon County,” Beshear said in a news release.

“One of the biggest draws to the commonwealth for growing companies is our site selection, and communities like Lyon County taking the initiative to develop sites for these potential investments is great. I want to congratulate Lyon County on its two new Build-Ready sites, and I’m excited to see what companies it might bring to the area.”

According to the news release, site A includes 20-80 acres within Eddyville city limits at the Eddyville Industrial Park. Site B consists of 8-20 acres in the same industrial park. The Eddyville Industrial Park itself is 106 acres available for development. The Site A property sits half a mile from Interstate Highway 69 and four miles from Interstate Highway 24. Additionally, the property is five miles from Eddyville Riverport, with a rail spur on-site. The Eddyville Industrial Park is also 35 miles east of the Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah.

Utilities include an 8-inch gravity sewer line that serves the site. The property also includes availability of a 10-inch waterline that runs along the south side of U.S. Highway 62. The excess water capacity of the property is 850,000 gallons per day at the site, according to the news release. Both sites offer electric, gas and fiber internet utilities.

In November 2021, Beshear announced a Product Development Initiative Grant for the Eddyville Industrial Park. The Lyon County location was selected for funding through the Product Development Initiative in 2020. PDI was created through a partnership between the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and the Kentucky Association for Economic Development to provide competitive grants to Kentucky economic development organizations and local governments to supplement site and building improvement projects.

In the news release, Lyon County Judge-Executive Jaime Green-Smith spoke on how the community comes together to invest in site development projects.

“We know that available sites in the industrial park drive economic development projects in our community,” she said. “As a community, we work together to invest in product development and build great economic development sites. Our strategy has been to develop diverse sites to meet the different needs of industrial tenants looking to locate in the industrial park.”

Eddyville Mayor Greg Greene talked about selling points for the two new sites.

“Speed-to-market is a decision driver in economic development,” Greene said, in the news release. “We are ready to meet the needs of business as they make location decisions. Our industrial park is fully served with utilities, has great transportation access and truly embodies the ‘Build-Ready’ spirit. With the completion of these Build-Ready sites, we are ready to meet any timeline a company has when they are looking for a new site.”

Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority Board Chair Billy Ray Coursey mentioned the partners that made the Build-Ready sites possible.

“The Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority are committed to the long-term success and investment into this park,” Coursey said, in the news release. “We now have two different Build-Ready sites to meet the needs of both large and small projects. Both sites came about thanks to cooperation and collaboration between the Eddyville Riverport, Lyon County IDA, Kentucky Utilities and the Cabinet for Economic Development.”

Lake Barkley Partnership Executive Director Amanda Davenport thanked the community for its support during the process.

“The investments in these sites would not have happened without local cooperation,” Davenport said, in the news release.

“We are thankful to have local leadership that understands and embodies cooperation throughout the community. The shared investment into our Build-Ready sites shows our county’s commitment to working together to better our business and industrial community.”

With a Build-Ready site, much of the work — aside from construction — has already been completed. That includes controlling the land to be developed, completing archaeological, environmental and geotechnical studies, constructing a building pad, finishing preliminary design work, obtaining approved site plan permits and putting necessary infrastructure in place, according to the news release. On a Build-Ready site, construction can begin immediately.

To be Build-Ready-certified, a site must include a pad ready to accommodate a building of 50,000 square feet with the ability to expand to 100,000 square feet or more — and utilities extending to the site’s edge. Applicants — usually a city, county or economic development group — must have previously filed the necessary permits, as well as preliminary building plans, cost estimates and schedule projections, according to the news release. Applicants also are asked to provide a rendering of a potential building for the site.

Including the new sites in Eddyville, Kentucky has roughly 23 Build-Ready sites. Multiple other locations across the state are working toward certification.

To date, eight former Build-Ready-certified sites, including tracts located in Hart and Laurel counties and four sites in Warren County, have been selected by companies for new location projects, allowing companies to bring operations online in a cost-efficient manner while creating jobs for residents.