Greater Hattiesburg Industrial Property Rebranded, Receives Grant Funds for Development
Hattiesburg, Miss. (April 2020) — The I-59 Supply Chain Park is poised for success with a new name and more than $500,000 in site development grant funds. The I-59 Supply Chain Park, previously known as the HLRA Industrial Site, is located adjacent to Interstate 59 and the Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport. The property, owned by the Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport Authority, is located within Jones County and adjacent to Greater Hattiesburg.
“Renaming the site is in addition to years’ worth of proactive site development,” said Tom Heanue, Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport Executive Director. “Within past years, we have worked closely with Forrest and Jones Counties, the Area Development Partnership (ADP), the Jones County Economic Development Authority (EDA), Cooperative Energy, Dixie Electric, Spire, and other partners to increase the readiness of our property and ultimately increase speed to market for companies choosing to locate here.”
The I-59 Supply Chain Park’s existing tenants include Superior Manufacturing, Ashley Furniture, and Flowers Foods. The largest tract of undeveloped property, 212-acres, was a finalist for a distribution facility project in 2017, ultimately losing to a more developed site in West Texas. Since then, the organizations tasked with economic development for the region have significantly invested in site development.
Ross Tucker, Jones County EDA president and CEO, says the I-59 Supply Chain Park can fit the needs of businesses both large and small. “Commerce is ever-changing and we understand that not all businesses have the same requirements. We have property from five to 25 to 212-acres available for development, all poised for corporate success and local economic growth,” said Tucker.
In 2019, the Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport Authority applied for and received a $250,000 Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) Site Development grant for grubbing, grassing, and erosion control of the property, and repaving the access road. Additional matching funds from both Forrest and Jones Counties supplemented the MDA grant, as well as a Cooperative Competes grant from Cooperative Energy and Dixie Electric. Together, these grants provided more than $500,000 of investment in proactive site development of the I-59 Supply Chain Park.
Today, the largest parcel within the I-59 Supply Chain Park is cleared, grubbed, and grassed, and grading work is ongoing. Efforts to extend Superior Drive west to the core 212-acre parcel are also underway. Environmental due diligence studies are complete and all utilities are located within the industrial park.
Chad Newell, Area Development Partnership president states, “The I-59 Supply Chain Park is a great fit for companies exploring distribution center additions in the Gulf South. This is a great site with superb workforce characteristics and custom training solutions available.”
For more information about the I-59 Supply Chain Park visit https://www.theadp.com/economic-development/i59supplychain/.
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