A site in Boone County is moving ahead to the due diligence stage for review in the second round of the Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) program, which aims to create shovel-ready sites for companies looking to locate or expand.
In round two, $68.8 million is available for communities to invest in site and building upgrades.
KAED photo
The KPDI program is a collaboration between the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and the Kentucky Association for Economic Development, providing state support for potential improvements, ensuring Kentucky can draw growing companies from all industry sectors.
“We are proud to share that this site in Northern Kentucky has been approved to move to the next stage in the KPDI program,” said BE NKY Growth Partnership CEO Lee Crume. “Having sites ready for corporate location decision-making is critical to our economic development work and continuing to grow our economy and prosperity in Northern Kentucky with good-paying jobs.”
For a 321-acre site in Boone County, funding would help accelerate site preparation and infrastructure work, including on utilities and roadways.
Lee Crume, BE NKY
“Upon full development, this site is estimated to create more than 2,000 direct and spin-off jobs for the region for a total annual payroll of $121 million,” said Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore. “Moving Northern Kentucky forward is a team effort, and the county is grateful to everyone involved in this process, including BE NKY Growth Partnership for leading the application process.”
In total, projects and sites in 45 Kentucky counties are being evaluated in this second round.
Site Selection Group, a third-party, independent consultant, is evaluating all applications and considers factors a prospective company would look into, such as workforce availability, access to all infrastructure, and information on costs associated with development.
Judge-Executive Moore
Officials from the cabinet will look at each project and complete the final stage of due diligence for a recommendation of funding approval by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) in the coming months.
Earlier this month at the KEDFA meeting, the North Cargo Village Project at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) received final approval of $3.6 million in KPDI funds with a total of $14.7 million expected to be invested in the project. This application submitted by Boone County Fiscal Court, on behalf of the Kenton County Airport Board, was managed by BE NKY Growth Partnership and received support from Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties.
“We appreciate the work of Senator Chris McDaniel and Governor Beshear in the FY 22 state budget to expand the KPDI program, both in terms of funding and projects that can apply for and receive funding,” added Crume.
BE NKy
See NKyTribune’s related story on announcement of the KAED counties here.
