Upgrades totaling $3.5 million for industrial park development to help attract investment, job creation to Cadiz

Frankfort, KY – On Nov 1st, Governor Andy Beshear announced a $500,000 grant to the Cadiz-Trigg County Industrial Development Authority to support upgrades totaling $3.5 million for industrial park development and spec building construction.

The grant is through the state’s pilot Product Development Initiative program which helps further site selection and building development initiatives across the state.

“The site selection process continues to play a critical role in attracting quality companies and jobs to Kentucky,” said Gov. Beshear. “Continuing to invest in areas that give the commonwealth an advantage in site and building development will continue to be a top priority. I am excited to announce this addition to our state’s speed-to-market efforts and am looking forward to the future success of the site and the quality jobs it will bring to the surrounding communities.”

The Cadiz-Trigg County Industrial Development Authority purchased 100 acres in February 2001 to create an industrial park for manufacturing companies. The $3.5 million in upgrades will help construct a 100,000-square-foot speculative building expandable to 200,000 square feet on a 15-acre certified build-ready pad site at Interstate 24 Business Park.

The investment through the state’s pilot PDI program will allow companies to quickly locate in Central Kentucky while mitigating risks and delays associated with the construction process. The pilot PDI program was created in partnership between the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and the Kentucky Association for Economic Development (KAED).

Trigg County Judge/Executive Hollis Alexander noted the importance of this investment for the future of the community and for creating local jobs.

“The Trigg County Industrial Development Authority and the Trigg County Fiscal Court are thrilled to be selected for this grant opportunity to construct a 100,000-square-foot expandable speculative building,” said Judge Alexander. “We are making this investment because we believe in the future of our community as we strive to create jobs and opportunities for our residents. Thank you to Gov. Andy Beshear, the Cabinet for Economic Development and our partners for their support of our Product Development Initiative grant and our efforts to develop and recruit companies to the Interstate 24 Business Park.”

Cadiz Mayor Todd King understands the importance of investing in the site selection process and is excited about the business opportunities it will bring.

“The City of Cadiz is appreciative of the Trigg County Industrial Foundation’s forward-thinking decision to construct a 100,000-square-foot speculative building on a 15-acre site at the Interstate 24 Business Park,” Mayor King said. “We are so excited for this speculative building and to see our Interstate 24 Business Park continue to grow. We understand that having ready sites and buildings can be critical to a community’s economic development efforts. This building will bring in new business that will make Cadiz/Trigg County their home, offer new job opportunities and produce a substantial impact on our community. We would like to sincerely thank Gov. Andy Beshear and the Cabinet for Economic Development for supporting the community’s grant request.”

Carter Hendricks, director of the South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council, is looking forward to welcoming businesses to the region through this new speed-to-market opportunity.

“In a competitive economic development environment that values speed-to-market opportunities, we are excited for Cadiz and Trigg County and commend their forward-thinking decision to invest in a speculative building,” said Hendricks. “We are already working with our partners to recruit the next awesome company to take advantage of this speed-to-market site, strong regional workforce, amazing quality of life and low cost of living.”

The site investment in Trigg County furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.

In 2021, the commonwealth shattered every economic development record in the books. Private-sector new-location and expansion announcements included a record $11.2 billion in total planned investment and commitments to create a record 18,000-plus full-time jobs across the coming years. Kentucky’s average incentivized hourly wage for projects statewide in 2021 was $24 before benefits, a 9.4% increase over the previous year.

The economic momentum has carried strongly into 2022, with nearly $7.5 billion invested and more than 13,000 full-time jobs created just through September.

Since taking office, Gov. Beshear’s administration has welcomed $21 billion in investments that are creating 40,000 jobs, including the two largest economic development projects in state history. In September 2021, Gov. Beshear and leaders from Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation celebrated a transformative $5.8 billion investment that will create 5,000 jobs in Hardin County. And in April of this year, the Governor was joined by leadership at Envision AESC to announce a $2 billion investment that will create 2,000 jobs in Warren County. These announcements solidify Kentucky as the EV battery production capital of the United States.

Kentucky’s success has been noted by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, which have upgraded the state’s financial outlook to positive in recognition of the commonwealth’s surging economy. In addition, Site Selection magazine placed Kentucky at 6th in its annual Prosperity Cup rankings for 2022, which recognizes state-level economic success based on capital investments.

Kentucky has posted record low unemployment rates for the longest consecutive stretch on record, holding at or below 3.9% since April 2022.

In July, the Governor reported the highest annual growth rate in 31 years. And for the second year in a row, Kentucky’s General Fund budget surplus has exceeded $1 billion. Also in July, Gov. Beshear reported that the state’s rainy day fund is up to a record balance of $2.7 billion, significantly higher than the $129 million balance the fund had when the Governor took office.

Kentucky reported August 2022 General Fund receipts hit an unprecedented high for any August on record, marking 21 straight months of growing revenues for the state.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Kentucky lead the entire nation in job growth for the month of August and tied with New Hampshire for the largest jump in employment growth for September.

In September, Kentucky reported August 2022 General Fund receipts hit an unprecedented high for any August on record, marking 21 straight months of growing revenues for the state. September was also the third highest revenue month on record with more than $1.4 billion reported, marking the seventh month this year with collections topping $1 billion.

And from September 2021 to September 2022, Kentucky added 81,700 new jobs. Except for a four-month recovery period after the initial COVID-19 shock, this is the largest number of new jobs added in 20 years.

To encourage future investment and location of an economic development project, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in October approved a grant agreement with the Cadiz-Trigg County Industrial Development Authority. The grant agreement may provide up to $500,000 in funding.

The commonwealth recently unveiled the Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI), which builds on the foundation set by the pilot PDI program. The newly established statewide effort supports upgrades of industrial sites and buildings throughout Kentucky to further economic growth and job creation.

To learn more about KPDI, visit KPDI.ky.gov.

A detailed community profile for Trigg County can be viewed here.

Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.

Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.