County lands $1 million grant for Carbondale

Published 2:54 am Sunday, September 18, 2011

Whitfield County officials said Saturday that the county has landed a $1 million grant that will allow the county to finish building the access road through its new Carbondale Business Park.

“This is one (grant) we wanted and thought we had a good chance to get it,” County Commission Chairman Mike Babb said.

The federal grant, which was awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission, will be administered by the state Department of Transportation which will work with the county on building the road.

Babb said being awarded the grant is also a win for county taxpayers.

“This means $1 million that won’t have to come out of our local budget now,” he said. “We appreciate being chosen for this award because we believe our economic development plans will pay dividends for local workers in the future.”

Currently, only the first 1,000 feet of the park’s access road has been built from U.S. Highway 41. Babb said the road can now be built out to go entirely through the park and connect with Carbondale Road near the I-75 interchange.

Carbondale Business Park, a 184-acre parcel of land, is being developed by the county and Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority to bring new businesses to the area.

So far, one business has announced that it will build a plant in the park, which the county has spent more than $6 million on to purchase the property and develop. That company, adhesive manufacturer XL Brands, bought a 16.3-acre site from the Dalton Whitfield County Joint Development Authority for $407,500.

XL Brands, which is a subsidiary of Textile Rubber & Chemical Co, said earlier this year that it will expand its production and shipping capabilities with the construction of a 122,000-square-foot facility, which could open in limited capacity by the end of the year. The company will consolidate its Calhoun and Resaca plants into the new building at the business park, transferring 50 jobs in Gordon and Whitfield counties to the plant, and, according to the county, adding 55 new jobs. The XL Brands facility is on the park’s first lot of off U.S. 41.

Babb said the construction of the road will probably start sometime after the first of the year, but he said he is hopeful that the bids for the project can be let while the company that is building the first part of the road still has its crews and equipment down there.

“If we can let the bids while they are already staff up we could see some significant savings,” he said.

Babb said that while only one business so far has decided to purchase a lot in the park, it is having an effect on business recruitment efforts throughout the county.

“We get a lot of inquiries out of Carbondale, and it acts as a draw for other parcels,” he said.

Specifically, Babb said he hopes that there will an announcement in the next 30 days of a small company coming to the county and he said a Japanese car parts manufacturer did look at sites around the county.

“The state brought them in and showed them Carbondale,” he said.

Attracting companies connected to the auto industry is one of the focuses for county economic development officials because of the recent opening of the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga.

Elyse Cochran, director of economic development for the Joint Development Authority said the grant will help fund the infrastructure development needs at the Carbondale Business Park.

“The county’s aggressive approach to economic development supported by the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority, Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, and other state and federal agencies, will enhance our global competitiveness as our team works daily to lure jobs to the community for our citizens,” Cochran said in a statement.

Babb said the grant is also another sign that the county is doing more and more to work with state economic development officials to bring prospective businesses to tour Whitfield County business sites.

“We have come a long way with the state people in the last three years,” he said.