City: New sites for industry hard to find

Oct. 2—At a candidate forum last week, Owensboro City Commissioner Jeff Sanford said a future concern for officials will be finding land available for industries wanting to locate in the city.

Finding land suitable in near the city, however, is a challenge.

County commissioners, Mayor Tom Watson and the head of the greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. said last week they are interested in finding more sites for industry.

Those sites might not necessarily be in Daviess County. Some officials said the city will have to partner with other counties in their efforts to attract large industries.

Watson said the issue is largely a matter of location — namely, the city's location near obstacles such as the river and a flood plain.

"We are just hamstrung by not having land to do anything," Watson said.

While Bowling Green has 36 square miles inside its city limits, Owensboro has 16 to 17, Watson said.

The city can't annex out in the county away from city limits. Annexations must be contiguous, Watson said.

"We just don't have a lot of land, especially when you can go to Hancock County and still access Owensboro pretty easily," Watson said.

Sanford said, "People always want to put us with Bowling Green but they have so much more space than we do. They don't have the flood issue we do."

The city might have space, but it may not have "the right space" for a business, Sanford said.

"If we had someone come to us today and say, 'we need 50 acres on the river,' we don't have it," Sanford said.

Brittaney Johnson, president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp., said the agency works outside the county on business and industrial development.

"Of course, we look at the whole region. We do work with our regional partners," Johnson said.

The EDC has also coordinated with private landowners to do environmental surveys on land that could potentially be used for business development in the future.

According to Johnson, 184 acres of farmland off West Parrish Avenue was looked at "not too long ago."

"We are working with some other private property owners as well," Johnson said.

Those agreements are for preliminary environmental work.

"It takes time, like anything else," Johnson said. "We want to be very smart and strategic and build relationships with the private property owners."

Commissioner Mark Castlen said he has worked with the EDC to try to find land in Daviess County for a project with Green River Distillery, although the project has not come to fruition yet.

Castlen said commissioners are interested in trying to help find land for industrial development.

"The bottom line is we need to work with our contacts in surrounding counties," Castlen said. "The sad part is, when you go west of Owensboro, it's all a flood plain."

Mayor Pro Tem Larry Maglinger said, for new industry, "it's going to be hard to find a large amount of property that is not in the flood plain."

MidAmerica Airpark, the city's industrial park, is nearly full, but has some space available for development, Maglinger said.

"I think we still have 80 acres in the Airpark," Maglinger said. "That's still a pretty good size. The Airpark has been pretty successful."

In terms of finding space for new industry, Maglinger said, "I think the commission is always open to looking at whatever we can do, and working with the EDC."

Commissioner Bob Glenn said the EDC has formed partnerships with other counties, such as in Ohio County, where they have Bluegrass Crossings Industrial Park.

"I know we collaborate all the time" across the region on economic development, Glenn said. Having partnerships with other counties benefits both counties, Glenn said.

"Certainly the most suitable partnership is with Hancock County," Glenn said.

Owensboro's amenities are a draw, because an industry can locate in a nearby county and attract workers from Owensboro, Glenn said.

"We have workers that drive everywhere," Glenn said.

Later, Glenn said, "Owensboro is a very nice place to live and a great place to raise a family. We're seeing it's even a good place for young people to buy a house.

"I know a lot of people who work other places but live in Owensboro because of the quality of life," Glenn said.

Other cities that have attracted projects, such as Henderson, have plans to add amenities that Owensboro already has, Glenn said.

"I don't think we need to gnash our teeth and be too upset Henderson is experiencing growth, because it will benefit the whole region," Glenn said.

Watson said the city has a broad economic base, which has been a benefit.

"We survived the pandemic because we don't rely on one thing," Watson said.

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse