At least a dozen industries want part of Lawrence County’s 504-acre South Point Industrial Site – and that’s without active marketing, economic development leaders said.

Saturday, May 06, 2000

At least a dozen industries want part of Lawrence County’s 504-acre South Point Industrial Site – and that’s without active marketing, economic development leaders said.

"If you take into consideration that every call has come just from word-of-mouth, demand is much greater," Lawrence Economic Development Corporation executive director Pat Clonch said.

Although the LEDC will not release identities of the companies because of the sensitive nature of negotiations, industries that have contacted the LEDC include about 12 fabricators, manufacturers and trucking firms, Mrs. Clonch said.

Most are expanding firms, with one newly-formed company mixed in, and several are local businesses, she said.

Expanding companies make exciting prospects because there already is a degree of success attached to them, she said. But, all interest in the South Point site is taken seriously, Mrs. Clonch added.

One company, Biomass Energy, already owns part of the site and is planning to build a power co-generation plant.

The 504-acre site’s development is tied to the $100 million Ironton-Huntington, W.Va., Empowerment Zone federal grant and offers industrial clients access to river, road and rail transportation.

LEDC officials are negotiating its purchase from Ashland Inc., which formerly operated the ethanol plant there. The LEDC is still deciding what it will offer for the site, Mrs. Clonch said.

The final purchase likely will be several million dollars, officials said.

Because several companies are interested in the future industrial park, marketing strategy has been an issue.

"The question is, do you market or do you take care of the people who have been to see you?" Mrs. Clonch said.

Waiting to market remaining land, if indeed there is remaining land in two years, also could be considered, she said.

But Roger Haley, the newly-hired industrial site manager, is working with local consultants on marketing plans, Mrs. Clonch added.

The LEDC discussed that type of strategy and other site development plans as county economic development leaders rallied with state officials, Empowerment Zone authorities and area officeholders at an all-day Thursday meeting.

"We had every resource person here," Mrs. Clonch said, adding that the whole purpose was to share site and Zone plans among all agencies involved.

"We spent the last four months working in Ironton," she said, referring to work with Ironton Iron and Liebert Corp. "Now, we need to get back up here."

Two of the most important issues seemed to be sharing information and expanding Tri-State riverport boundaries, attendees said.

Grant writer Ralph Kline of the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization, who has worked with the zone since the application process, said he was encouraged that everyone involved came together with a purpose.

"It’s when you get multiple partners sitting at one table it’s very encouraging," he said.

Kline also spent part of the day on the phone with state officials, talking about Community Development Block Grant dollars, urban renewal initiatives and other programs to match Empowerment Zone money for South Point site development costs.

The State of Ohio set aside $100,000 this week as a match.

Other money for the site is coming in bits and pieces now, too, Kline said.

So, it’s important for all parties involved in development to plan together, he said.

One the most pressing actions will be funding the first half of the acquisition price this year, Mrs. Clonch said.

And the LEDC is ready to let a contract for developing the site’s master plan, which also includes marketing and funding strategies, she said.

Everybody at Thursday’s meeting will return to their agencies to coordinate a development timeline, she added.

County commission president Bruce Trent, who attended Thursday’s meeting, said the expansion of the U.S. Corps of Engineers’ Huntington river port boundary was encouraging.

Port boundaries only exist on paper as statistical records in a computer, but the addition of Lawrence County’s riverfront to that database is important to attracting business, Trent said.

Plans to form a foreign trade zone around the South Point site also means possible import-export business to develop there, he said.

"There are not too many other port authorities that have an industrial park like ours," Trent said. "It’s the most aesthetic and desirable piece of property in this area because of its size and capability of transporting goods in and out."