By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green is planning on selling more property in Innovative Technology Park, on the southeast corner of the city.
An unnamed company has expressed interest in an existing cold storage facility in the business park, located on the north side of Napoleon Road, east of Dunbridge Road, according to Bowling Green Director of Public Utilities Brian O’Connell.
In 2017, Apio Inc. purchased property in the Innovative Technology Park and constructed a cold storage building for its vegetable products. Then in early 2021, Apio became Curation Foods and the business was sold to Taylor Farms in December of 2021.
“Unfortunately, Taylor Farms closed this facility shortly after the acquisition,” O’Connell said Monday evening to the city’s Board of Public Utilities.
The vacant building is located in the northwest corner of the business park. A buyer is working to purchase the building from the current owner and is also interested in acquiring approximately 1.35 acres to the east of the site to expand the facility.
The interested party has agreed to purchase the property for $40,000 which is approximately $30,000 an acre, O’Connell said.
As done with past business park real estate transactions, the 1.35 acres will be transferred from the city to Bowling Green Economic Development. The city will receive a credit of $10,000 an acre on next year’s BGED dues which would be approximately $13,500 for this property transfer. The remaining proceeds will be used by BGED for future economic development opportunities.
Though O’Connell said he didn’t know who the buyer is, he presumed it was a company needing cold storage. The building doesn’t use a great deal of power, but he added “any electric customer is a good customer.”
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the board heard about fiber improvements also in the southeast corner of the city, from Assistant Utilities Director Jim Odneal.
Along East Gypsy Lane Road, in front of Wood Lane School, the utility poles are congested with telecommunication circuits and have low clearance to the ground, drives, and roadway.
There is not adequate space for additional telecommunication circuits, Odneal explained.
Amplex is building a new fiber network to Wood Lane and other county facilities in that area. Amplex realized there is no room on the poles to add another fiber circuit, so the company approached the city about burying conduit underground for fiber circuits.
The board approved plans for the city to work with Amplex to relieve the congestion.
