Marion officials high on megasite potential

Marion officials high on megasite potential

Fogleman: ‘ I don’t think there is a downside to doing this’

news@theeveningtimes.com

Marion is joining West Memphis and Crittenden County in throwing its support behind an industrial megasite on Interstate 40, but will continue to market its own site located adjacent to that one.

The City Council approved a resolution that will help the state market the 1,800 acre site to prospective large industrial projects looking for a “shovel ready” site on which to build.

The site is located along Interstate 40 and runs north to Highway 64 along the east side of Highway 147 north of Lehi and encompasses parts of West Memphis and Marion.

“West Memphis and Crittenden County have both passed resolutions supporting the effort and are agreeing to work together to promote the site,” said Marion Mayor Frank Fogleman. “The majority of the ground is within the city limits of West Memphis. Some of the ground is in Marion.”

Supersites are large tracts of contiguous land that are choice locations used by cities and states to attract industrial projects. Sites must meet certain infrastructure availability, transportation availability, favorable topographical data, environmental assessment, price and engineering studies in order to be certified by the state.

The land is not owned by either city, but the land is under option to purchase.

West Memphis has also signed an agreement with Entergy to provide the electrical infrastructure and power service.

County Judge Woody Wheeless said the site now meets all of the state’s guidelines for a supersite.

“The whole idea of this (agreement) is to have a site that is shovel ready where you don’t have to do anything,” Wheeless said.

“There are a lot of things taking place now that haven’t happened in the past, so now this whole area will have an advantage over the whole rest of the state.”

Fogleman said the agreement

to cooperate between the two cities and the county will help the state put its full marketing efforts

behind it to land a big industrial project.

“The state is going to put some heft behind it and put it on prominent display,” Fogleman said. “It will be promoted on the Entergy website. It will be promoted on the state’s website. It’s probably one of the better sites they have to promote should somebody come looking for a large site.”

Councilman Kelly O’Neal, who voted in favor of the resolution supporting the site, asked about the status of another supersite which is located in Marion that the city has been marketing on its own.

“Where are we with our supersite?” O’Neal asked.

According to Fogleman, the city is still working with the property owners to secure options on the land.

“We are still trying to nail down some options,” Fogleman said. “The owners aren’t quite seeing eyeto- eye with what the state recommends for an option.

And I don’t see the owners embracing the state’s offer.”

The 1,200 acre site was a finalist in Toyota’s search for a truck assembly plant and was at one time named the finest site in the South for an automotive manufacture by Southern Business & Development Magazine.

Fogleman said the city will continue to market the property.

“The owners want us to represent them,” Fogleman said. “But on their terms, not the state’s. There is a disagreement on the price and there is a disagreement on the amount of time.”

Marion Chamber of Commerce President and Economic Development Director Tracy Brick said the site is still being promoted by the state as well as on the website siteselection.

com.

“The state will still promote it,” Brick said. “Just not as intensely as this other site.”

Fogleman added that it doesn’t mean the two sites will be in competition with each other.

“I don’t think there is a downside to doing this,” Fogleman said. “And I don’t think we are jeopardizing our relationship with any of the property owners out there. The state would rather that it be considered all one chunk. But other than one of them has a more attractive price to the buyer because the price is lower, if somebody wants to be there and it is a significant deal, they may want parts of both.”

By Mark Randall