Work ongoing at Green Industrial Park

Excavation is underway at the Mike Green Industrial Park to prepare the area for potential new industry.

The 172-acre park, located on Alabama 243 in Russellville, was made possible by a $195,000 grant secured by State Sen. Roger Bedford.

Franklin County EDA Executive Director Mitch Mays said the grant provided for clearing and grubbing the entire area and preparing an 80,000 square foot pad ready site.

“Having a pad ready site is an important marketing tool because a company wanting to locate here wouldn’t have to do any dirt work; they could just build right away,” Mays said.

According to Mays, the county-owned MG Industrial Park is an AdvantageSite industrial park, which is a designation given by the state that means the park is “shovel ready,” or ready for prospective industry to come in and begin to build. The MG Industrial Park was the third AdvantageSite park in the state.

“This park is an asset to Franklin County,” Mays said. “Russellville has an industrial park, but this was previously not something we had here in the county and the [Franklin County] Industrial Development Board thought this was a way to move the county forward and be more attractive to potential industry.”

The park is designed for companies that need large tracts of land, which was one of the requirement the Industrial Development Board had in mind when searching for a site location.

“When the board conducted their initial survey for a location for the park, we looked through the county to find a site that met the requirements for utilities, flat land and proximity to major highways,” Industrial Development Board member Bruce Jackson said. “The current site met all these requirements.”

Sen. Bedford said that he was proud to support a project that would help Franklin County continue to move forward.

“When you have a prepared site, it’s an asset your economic development director can use to market the area,” Bedford said. “The days of showing a cotton field are over.”

Bedford said that other assets in the county make this area a prime spot for industry to locate.

“We’re not just preparing a site here in Franklin County for industry to locate, we’re also preparing the workforce by having training available at Northwest Shoals Community College,” he said. “We have a top-notch site and top-notch training here, and that really sets the county apart.”

“The Industrial Development Board is working hard to bring this park to fulfillment so industry can begin to consider our area,” Mays said.

s underway at the Mike Green Industrial Park to prepare the area for potential new industry.

The 172-acre park, located on Alabama 243 in Russellville, was made possible by a $195,000 grant secured by State Sen. Roger Bedford.

Franklin County EDA Executive Director Mitch Mays said the grant provided for clearing and grubbing the entire area and preparing an 80,000 square foot pad ready site.

“Having a pad ready site is an important marketing tool because a company wanting to locate here wouldn’t have to do any dirt work; they could just build right away,” Mays said.

According to Mays, the county-owned MG Industrial Park is an AdvantageSite industrial park, which is a designation given by the state that means the park is “shovel ready,” or ready for prospective industry to come in and begin to build. The MG Industrial Park was the third AdvantageSite park in the state.

“This park is an asset to Franklin County,” Mays said. “Russellville has an industrial park, but this was previously not something we had here in the county and the [Franklin County] Industrial Development Board thought this was a way to move the county forward and be more attractive to potential industry.”

The park is designed for companies that need large tracts of land, which was one of the requirement the Industrial Development Board had in mind when searching for a site location.

“When the board conducted their initial survey for a location for the park, we looked through the county to find a site that met the requirements for utilities, flat land and proximity to major highways,” Industrial Development Board member Bruce Jackson said. “The current site met all these requirements.”

Sen. Bedford said that he was proud to support a project that would help Franklin County continue to move forward.

“When you have a prepared site, it’s an asset your economic development director can use to market the area,” Bedford said. “The days of showing a cotton field are over.”

Bedford said that other assets in the county make this area a prime spot for industry to locate.

“We’re not just preparing a site here in Franklin County for industry to locate, we’re also preparing the workforce by having training available at Northwest Shoals Community College,” he said. “We have a top-notch site and top-notch training here, and that really sets the county apart.”

“The Industrial Development Board is working hard to bring this park to fulfillment so industry can begin to consider our area,” Mays said.