CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Bradley County leaders hope an interchange on APD 40 between Interstate 75 and U.S. Highway 11 will unlock hundreds of acres of land for commercial and industrial development.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation announced that it has placed the interchange project on its three-year budget plan after years on the waiting list, Bradley County Planner Corey Divel said.
The land, located between Chattanooga’s Enterprise South industrial park and Wacker Chemical’s upcoming polycrystalline silicon plant in Charleston, Tenn., is well-situated for a development park, Mr. Divel said.
“It’s almost exactly halfway between two billion-dollar investments,” Mr. Divel said. “It’s pretty significant.”
“Once we got Volkswagen, once we got Wacker … TDOT saw the light” about funding the project, said Dan Howell, executive assistant to County Mayor D. Gary Davis.
About 80 acres of industrial property remain in the county after the county’s northern industrial park was recently consumed by Wacker’s land purchase, Mr. Divel said.
If a new industrial park is established next to the interchange on APD-40, up to 500 acres of private property could be available, said Gary Farlow, CEO of the Cleveland-Bradley County Chamber of Commerce.
“We expect that to be the next big commercial corridor,” he said, comparing the road to Paul Huff Parkway in Cleveland’s north end. “The goal is to be close enough … to be attractive to (Volkswagen suppliers).”
If the landowners are willing to sell at appraised prices, evaluating the property could be a six-month process, he said. The park would be funded by the city of Cleveland and Bradley County. Mr. Divel said the land is currently appraised for about $15,000 an acre, though some property owners expected double that figure.
Mr. Divel said the property would help provide jobs for an additional 33,000 residents expected in the next 25 years, Divel said.
“You’ve got to have industrial development,” he said. “Residential just doesn’t pay the bills.”
Mr. Divel said the target date for the interchange’s completion is 2012, adding that other necessary infrastructure improvements would occur around the same time frame.
“It would just be a disaster to put additional demand on exit 20 without improving it as well,” Mr. Divel said.
Public funding availability will determine if the industrial park can be ready in the next two or three years, Mr. Farlow said.
Douglas Berry, vice president of economic development at the Chamber, said finances for the project would have to be allocated from the city and county government.
Talk is also stirring about using the new property for public purposes.
Mr. Farlow and Mr. Berry said that one of the landowners indicated he would be willing to donate approximately five acres for a civic/conference center.
The building would be large enough to hold a prom or high school graduation, Mr. Farlow said, noting that local businesses could also hold events in the venue.
“A civic and convention center is in the list of our top five priorities this year,” Mr. Howell said. The current First Baptist Church facility also is being considered to house the center, Mr. Howell added.
The Cherokee National Forest’s Cleveland office may at some point consider moving to the new property at the bypass, spokesman Terry McDonald said. The greater exposure would improve the public gateway to the national forest, Mr. Berry said.
After decades of government talk, Mr. Howell said the development project will usher in new economic growth for the county.
“It’s just a huge shot in the arm,” he said.