SOMERSET, Ky. — A new Build-Ready-certified site was announced at Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority (SPEDA) Commerce Park in Pulaski County, positioning the location to attract new business to the region.
The tract, located at 2000 Barnesburg Road in Somerset, adds to the growing list of sites certified by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and is available statewide for companies looking to begin construction and start operation as soon as possible.
The new site will include a 100,000-square-foot building pad on 22 acres and will be zoned and developed for industrial use. The property is parallel to Kentucky Highway 80, a designated truck network road. The site also is located just 25 miles from Exit 41 of Interstate Highway 75.
Additional utilities include electricity, a 6-inch gas line along the north side of Barnesburg Road, and a 6-inch sewer line that serves the site. The property also includes the availability of 6-, 8- and 16-inch waterlines with an excess water capacity of over 5 million gallons per day.
Chris Girdler, president and CEO of SPEDA, said he is thrilled to add another site-selection resource to the area.
“In Somerset and Pulaski County, we will work tirelessly to utilize every tool in the toolbox and being a certified Build-Ready site is one of the tools we are excited to say we are using,” Girdler said. “I greatly appreciate the work of our engineering and contracting team, along with the Cabinet for Economic Development assisting us on this project, and we look forward to making the remainder of the SPEDA Commerce Park a Build-Ready location as well.”
Much of the work – aside from construction – has already been completed with a Build-Ready site. That includes controlling the land to be developed, completing archaeological, environmental and geotechnical studies, constructing a building pad, finishing preliminary design work, obtaining approved site plan permits and putting the necessary infrastructure in place. On a Build-Ready site, construction can begin immediately.
To be Build-Ready certified, a site must include a pad ready to accommodate a building of 50,000 square feet with the ability to expand to 100,000 square feet or more – and utilities extending to the site’s edge. Applicants – usually a city, county or economic development group – must have previously filed the necessary permits and preliminary building plans, cost estimates and schedule projections. Applicants also are asked to provide a rendering of a potential building for the site.
Including the new site in Somerset, the commonwealth is home to nearly 20 Build-Ready sites. Multiple other locations across the state are currently working toward certification.
To date, six former Build-Ready-certified sites, including tracts located in Graves and Laurel counties and four sites in Warren County, have been selected by companies for new location projects, allowing companies to bring their operations online in a cost-efficient manner while creating jobs for local Kentuckians.
This new site furthers recent economic momentum in the commonwealth as the state builds back stronger from the effects of the pandemic.
In 2021, the commonwealth shattered every economic development record in the books. Private-sector new location and expansion announcements included a record $11.2 billion in total planned investment and commitments to create a record 18,000-plus full-time jobs across the coming years. Kentucky’s average incentivized hourly wage for projects statewide in 2021 was $24 before benefits, a 9.4% increase over the previous year.
For more information on Build-Ready sites in Kentucky, visit CED.ky.gov/BuildReady.
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