Just over three years ago, the discussion about McDonald Farm centered on the desperate need for industrial park space in the 16-county Southeast Tennessee area.
Generally, it was said the 2,100-acre site in Sale Creek was needed for industry, but various mixed uses also were mentioned. More specifically, automotive-related industry was suggested, including perhaps a battery assembly company.
“I think this is something that this county is going to be developing for a number of years, even decades,” then-Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said on June 30, 2021, when the resolution to purchase the land first came up in the Hamilton County Commission’s agenda session. “And I think the good news is there’s opportunity there for mixed use, not just only manufacturing or office buildings or whatever.”
That was then.
Earlier this month, not quite three years from when the county closed on the $16 million purchase, economic development consultant Randall Gross told the commission that the site is not viable for industry. He said the cost of developing the site for industry would be about $360,000 per job created, with a $4 return on investment for every dollar spent on infrastructure.