Oak Ridge getting $797,597 state grant for work at Horizon Center Industrial Park
The city of Oak Ridge will receive a $797,597 state grant to make a part of the Horizon Center Industrial Park more attractive for companies to locate in the city.
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and state Rep. John Ragan, both of Oak Ridge, along with state Sen. Ken Yager and state Rep. Monty Fritts, both of Kingston, have announced that the city is receiving one of 12 new Site Development Grants. It will be used for access road construction, property clearing and due diligence studies at land known as "Area 7" in the Horizon Center, according to a news release from the the Republican legislators. The grant is administered by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) and is designed to help communities invest in infrastructure and engineering improvements to land economic development projects and achieve Select Tennessee site certification.
The Horizon Center is located off of U.S. Highway 58/Oak Ridge Turnpike.
"I am grateful to see the city of Oak Ridge receive this important grant,” McNally is quoted as saying in the release. “This money will allow the city to literally pave the way for future economic growth and high quality jobs for our citizens. (It's) an excellent acknowledgement of the great potential for growth in Oak Ridge."
“This grant will bring the Horizon Center Industrial Park one step closer to having a shovel ready site to attract new business to Anderson and Roane Counties,” Yager stated. “Local officials have done great work by submitting a successful grant application and we will continue to support their efforts to bring new jobs to the community. I appreciate the work of Gov. Lee and TNECD for administering this grant.”
“This is a significant investment into our community,” Ragan stated. “These funds will increase the site’s suitability for business investment and help bring economic opportunity for many in Oak Ridge and the surrounding communities. I was proud to learn of the grant and I thank ECD for their work in selecting this location.”
“Oak Ridge is the center of the uranium universe,” Fritts said. “With that distinction we will lead the nuclear and innovative energy development. This grant will go toward essential projects for the industrial park, helping to bring jobs and increase preparedness for a nuclear energy renaissance. I thank all the folks involved in the application process and I appreciate the work TNECD does to help improve local economies like ours.”
The Site Development Grant program, part of the Rural Economic Opportunity Act, works in tandem with TNECD’s Select Tennessee program. Since 2016, TNECD has awarded 174 Site Development Grants across the state, totaling nearly $85 million in assistance to local communities and generating 6,595 new jobs for Tennesseans.
As reported earlier in The Oak Ridger, in 2013 the TNECD identified 110 acres in Oak Ridge’s Horizon Center as one of the first sites in the state to be designated as a Select Tennessee site. On June 2012, the TNECD launched the Select Tennessee program that assesses, certifies and promotes “vetted” sites for relocations and expansions.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Oak Ridge gets $797,597 grant for Horizon Center Industrial Park work
