Several economic development projects are in the works in Murray and Calloway County. From an automotive parts manufacturer, to buildings equipped for potential use to road projects, there are several goals for 2015. We get a scan from Mark Manning, Murray Calloway Economic Development Corporation's Executive Director, on Sounds Good.
Here's a scan through projects involving the Murray Calloway Economic Development Corporation this year:
iwis
The German automotive parts company should be getting very close to ramping up production. After announcing their arrival to Murray in 2012, they predicated their starting here on a contract with General Motors. New GM vendors need to go through a trial before full production, specific to the specialized equipment being built. After renovations to the facility were complete, there was a test run to prove to GM they could supply the parts with a goal of a low or zero defect rate. Since the engine is brand new, they went into a hibernation state. The engine now goes into production this year, but no exact date yet. Mark Manning predicts sometime in the first quarter more people will be hired. Full production should commence within a short period of time thereafter. The initial contract required about 75 people. Each time a contract is added a similar but slightly lower number of hires will be added.
"Plug and Play" Office Available
MCED has a building listed on their website for instant use. Manning describes this building as "plug and play" meaning it's ready for a company to come in and within days begin work. This particular building is located south of town and is a readymade call center, approximately 16,000 square feet. The asking price is $1.5 million. This space is currently owned by the Taylor family of Toyota of Murray.
Industrial West Park
Manning says this is "probably the small industrial park in western Kentucky, if not the entire state." For a company to find a location and build their own space is typically unlikely, with exception to companies that require a custom space like freezers or heavy cranes. So the goal for 2015 is to build something here that would be accommodating to a prospective company. This requires planning, financing, etc.
"Our goal for 2015 and the future is we recognize we're going to have to build a building. In order to do that we've got planning to go through. We've got to find financing. We're not a community like Lexington or Louisville that can write big checks for big things at the drop of a hat. So we're having to be creative... And our goal is to move forward significantly... on putting together a shell building or spec building that would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000 to 100,000 of high quality construction."
Economic Development in Neighboring Counties
Manning says there isn't typically competition with neighboring counties, rather a cooperation. The competition lies in Tennessee, north Mississippi, north Alabama, southern Indiana and sometimes Arkansas. He cites a report from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce that says within the Purchase Region, job growth was lower than the state average. As a region, there were lost manufacturing jobs. However, Calloway County isn't necessarily reflective of these statistics. Calloway grew at a faster rate in total jobs and manufacturing jobs than the state of Kentucky. Nevertheless, he says, "As long as there are people that are unemployed or underemployed in Calloway County then we have to continue to try to find good opportunities."
Manning attributes the statistics cyclical growth and decline. In the last two years, Fulton and Hickman Counties rebounded from being among some of the highest unemployed counties in the country. The challenge for the region is that there aren't a lot of readymade, ready to go buildings for businesses to move into, so the inventory is low. Also, there isn't a major urban area nearby, so acquiring businesses is a fight. But, he says, the track record is good, "Once you get a company to Murray, I won't say you've got them sold, but you've got a good chance to sell them. The challenge is getting them here to look in the first place."
I-69 Road Projects
Completing I-69 will help, but progress is moving at different paces in different states. Any movement of transportation will help, Manning says. The new bridges and the four-lane between Barkley and Cadiz will be good. Also, 641 South. Manning recommends this project be moved to the top of the list. He estimates. Roughly 35-45% of traffic on this road comes from Henry County, which is commerce coming in. There's no telling how much stales tax revenue is generated for Kentucky up and down Highway 641. What will move this forward? Politics and money. He says this is one of the projects that will actually pay for itself over time.
As Murray is triangulated between routes 40, 24 and 69, it's at an advantage when it comes to steady, quality growth.
"I don't think we want to be Jackson, Tennessee or Clarksville Tennessee. I think we want to be Murray, Kentucky. A great community, where you can raise a family, where you can have decent economic opportunity. And at the same time have that same small town quality of life where you can drop your kids off at the movie and they'll be safe, or where they can walk to school."
