By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green is planning to purchase 40.59 acres to allow the Wood Bridge industrial park to expand to the east.
The city’s Board of Public Utilities voted Monday evening to buy the acreage for $1 million from the Ross Family Farms. The acreage sits at the southwest corner of Poe and Carter roads.
“This would give us the potential to have a really large property,” for prospective industries, said Brian O’Connell, director of the city’s public utilities.
Currently, the city has parcels of five and 10 acres for smaller customers, but nothing this large, O’Connell told the board.
The land purchase would also allow for a road from the industrial park eastward to Carter Road. Currently, the only entrance to the business park is from Dunbridge Road.
The property purchase is on City Council’s agenda for Monday.
In 2017, the city bought 20 acres that allowed the industrial park to expand to the south. The city also has a purchase option for additional property to the south to allow access to Wooster Street, east of the Meijer store.
“Strategically, it’s in a good spot for expansion,” O’Connell said of the property to the east. “I do think it does offer some opportunity for job growth and additional economic development.”
The agreement with the Ross Family Farms calls for $800,000 to be paid upon purchase, then the remaining $200,000 when the property is sold to businesses or no later than eights years after the original purchase. The money to buy the acreage will come from the utilities department’s capital reserve funds.
Until the property is sold for industrial uses, the city will continue to rent the acreage out for farming, O’Connell said. That brings in about $250 per acre.
Bill Culbertson, a member of the board of public utilities, asked that the city take into consideration any neighbors of the new acreage – and make sure to provide some type of buffer between the industrial sites and existing homes. He mentioned ongoing concerns about industry along Poe Road and residential neighbors.
In other business at Monday’s public utilities meeting, the board approved a proposal to add a fourth interconnection electric substation at the southeast corner of Brim and Bishop roads. The new substation would benefit the city by improving transmission system reliability and capacity, provide access to serve larger customers, and allow the city to maintain control of its electric system.
The substation would be constructed by AMP for an estimated $4-$5 million, with the city’s share estimated at less than $750,000.
According to O’Connell, the additional substation will allow the city to attract new large industrial users. The city already owns the acreage for the substation at Bellard Business Park – and there will still be eight to 10 acres left to sell for industrial development.
Also at the meeting, new additions to the Efficiency Smart Contract were explained. The program helps customers track and reduce their energy usage. The city has been part of the program since 2011.
