Spurred on by the prospect of attracting more large industries to Bradley county, local leaders are moving ahead with plans for the Spring Branch Industrial Park.
The city of Cleveland, Bradley county, Cleveland Utilities and the Chamber of Commerce are getting ready to present the plan to state officials.
If you remember what Enterprise South looked like before Volkswagen, take a good look at this strip of 343 acres south of I-75 Exit 20 in Bradley County.
Community leaders hope to strike gold once again, like they did with the Wacker Plant, Whirlpool and Amazon.Com.
This is the proposed Spring Branch Industrial Park where that industry would likely go.
Douglas Berry, Vice President for Economic Development at the Chamber of Commerce, is preparing to deliver the entire plan to state officials in Nashville.
DOUGLAS BERRY, V.P. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE "The intent is for us to demonstrate that it has feasibility from and engineering standpoint , it's a developable site and and meets basic engineering criteria..for an industrial park."
The Cleveland City Council on Monday passed a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement for the park.
The agreement is designed to speed up the acquisition of property.
DOUGLAS BERRY "In order for us to be an agressive comunity with the aspiration to help capture some of the supply chain for both Volkswagen and to recruit the complimentary industry for Wacker..we needed to development additional inventory in public held property."
Berry, who has managed industrial development in other communities, says major changes will be made for traffic.
DOUGLAS BERRY "We're getting ready to initiate this next spring a major improvement package for exit 20..in cooperation with TDOT and the Federal Highway Administration...that's going to convert this from a rural interchange design to an urban design."
Under the agreement, if its approved, the city, Bradley county and Cleveland Utilities would each provide a third of the 6-million dollar startup costs.
Residents of the McDonald community have expressed concern that adding new industries to the area would put a major strain on local roads, unless local officials can quickly redesign the Exit 20 I-75 interchange.
