ECD Announces Third Round of Select Tennessee Certified Sites

NASHVILLE—The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced the next 11 Select Tennessee Certified Sites. The Select Tennessee program was launched in June 2012 with the goal of helping Tennessee communities prepare available sites for investment and expansion. The program sets a consistent and rigorous standard upon which companies can rely in making critical location decisions. The 11 sites are:

• Bridges Site in the Benton County Industrial Park: Benton County (Divider Natchez Trace and Industrial Park Road, Camden)
• Bristol Business Park: Sullivan County (Summit Street and Highway 394, Bristol)
• Dyersburg Rail Site: Dyer County (4500 Hwy 211, Dyersburg)
• Gallatin Industrial Center, Phase II: Sumner County (Gateway Drive, Gallatin)
• I-40 Advantage Industrial Park Site: Haywood County (Highway 70/79 Bypass and Windrow Rd, Brownsville)
• Jones Road Site in the Roane Regional Business and Technology Park: Roane County (Jones Road, Lenoir City)
• Lake County Industrial Site at Cates Landing: Lake County (State Route 22 and Cates Landing Road N., Tiptonville)
• Milan Commercial Complex, Graball Site: Gibson County (Highway 104 West and Graball Drive, Milan)
• Partnership Park II: Sullivan County (Weaver Pike and Partnership Park Road, Bristol)
• Sandstone Village Site: Madison County (Sand Pebble Drive, Jackson)
• Clarksville-Montgomery County Corporate Business Park South: Montgomery County (International Boulevard and Rossview Road, Clarksville)

"Tennessee continues to regularly compete on a global scale as the best place to do business. We understand that winning new business is a competitive endeavor, where Select Tennessee Certified Sites have a great advantage when it comes to landing the next big economic development project," ECD Commissioner Bill Hagerty said. "Having an attractive site, that's already been certified to international standards by world-class leading site selection firms Austin Consulting and The Foote Consulting Group, minimizes risk and assures companies looking to locate or expand here, their site will be operational in the shortest possible timeframe. I congratulate all of our new Select TN Certified Sites and their communities."The program acknowledges that companies looking to expand or relocate their operations often eliminate less prepared sites and addresses this issue by ensuring sites meet a specific standard. Among the qualifications needed to become certified, a site must have at least 20 developable acres, proper zoning in place to allow for ease of development, all utilities at the site or a formal plan to extend to the site, and truck quality road access.

A hallmark of the program is ensuring that Tennessee sites are ready for development, whether through marketing those ready for a prospect or providing guidance for uncertified cites to achieve a higher level of preparedness.

ECD has partnered with Austin Consulting and The Foote Consulting Group to administer the program.

“Each of these sites have been carefully evaluated in order to minimize development risks to potential end users,” Austin Consulting Location Consultant Brandon Talbert said. “The required documentation allows companies to make an informed and timely decision because the site has already been subjected to a comprehensive due diligence process.”

“Expanding companies and site selectors alike want to see sites that are ready to go right now and often do not have the time to go through a lengthy review process”, Foote Consulting Group, LLC President and CEO, Deane C. Foote said. “The Select Tennessee Certified Sites program assures these companies and site selectors that they are seeing some of the very best sites in the nation, the "cream of the crop", all ready to go now! The result will be more successful project locations, more jobs and more capital investment for Tennessee.”

There are now 22 Select Tennessee Certified Sites available in 16 different counties across the state. The Select Tennessee program accepts applications twice a year. Applications are due for the next round by January 17, 2014; however, interested communities must begin the formal application process by sending in their letter of intent. The letter of intent can be sent in by email to Select.Tennessee@tn.gov at any time. Communities interested in applying to the Certified Sites program can visit www.SelectTennessee.com.

About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies, which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: tn.gov/ecd. Follow us on Twitter: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd.
 

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