Seven cities to share in state Site Development Grants

More than $13 million in state site development grants have been awarded with seven municipalities among the grantees. 

The 13 new Site Development Grant (SDG) recipients will help communities invest in infrastructure and engineering improvements to land economic development projects and achieve Select Tennessee site certification. 

Bristol’s Industrial Development Board will receive $2,537,381 for property grading and roadway improvements to the Bristol South Industrial Park. The Dresden Industrial Development Board will receive $865,070 to build out water infrastructure for a pad ready site. 

Greeneville and Tusculum, in conjunction with Greene County, have received $306,400 for their joint industrial development board to do due diligence and master planning at Greene Valley. Lexington’s Industrial Development Board has received $5 million for speculative building construction at the Timberlake Industrial Park. 

Newport, in conjunction with Cocke County, has received $100,000 for due diligence at the Stokley Moore Site while the Savannah Industrial Development Corporation has received $343,879 for access road construction, tree clearing, and property grading at the Boyd Property.  

Additional recipients included Benton, Crockett, Franklin, Meigs, Sequatchie, and Sullivan counties as well as a joint project between Houston and Stewart counties. 

The SDG program is part of the Rural Economic Opportunity Act, which provides funding to improve the economies of Tennessee’s rural communities. Since 2016, TNECD has awarded 210 SDGs across the state, totaling over $130 million in assistance to local communities and generating 8,417 new jobs for through projects that landed on sites improved through the program. 

“Since taking office in 2019, we have made it an administration-wide mission to create greater opportunity in rural Tennessee because we know what happens in our rural communities matters to all Tennesseans,” said Gov. Lee. “I am proud to announce funding today that will strengthen these communities and position them for future economic investment and job creation.”

Applications were reviewed by an advisory committee made up of TNECD, Austin Consulting, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Each application was supported by the community’s senator and representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly.