By PAMELA BRUST
9/11/05 - PARKERSBURG - As substantial amounts of developable commercial property open up as a result of Corridor D and existing business sites are being eyed by interested firms, Wood County development officials are optimistic.
Wood County Development Authority/Roundtable Director Keith Burdette said economic development is really about a lot of hard work and a little luck.
"There are opportunities which Corridor D has made possible. Fort Boreman Hill would have been difficult to develop in the short-run because of the site preparation work. But when they removed all that dirt off the hill and moved it to Corridor D, they created 180 acres of flat property at an interchange, which makes it probably the most attractive piece of future, developable property anywhere, maybe in the entire state," he said.
"It's the same at (state) Route 47. They moved dirt off what's called Lee's Hill and created a very attractive piece of property between 200-300 acres. We think it will bring interest as well.
"There are tracts that have been flattened out between the DuPont Road interchange and where the bridge will be that will be highly developable.
There are also several tracts now commercially viable, where the highway has made transporting goods in and out of the Pettyville area much easier," Burdette said.
While declining to name names, Burdette said the former Walker Manufacturing site is being considered by a manufacturing firm, and a decision could be forthcoming this fall.
"We are in the hurry-up-and-wait stage right now. We've had a couple of interested parties," Burdette said, noting if the project moves ahead, the manufacturing firm "would have significant enough employment that it would almost completely offset the Walker (job) loss."
The former Luiginos's site has also been getting attention. The frozen-food maker pulled out of a project to build a plant near the Coldwater Creek site in 2003.
"We've had a manufacturing company and a distribution facility interested. We've provided information on it to a couple other manufacturing companies as well. It is a prime piece of commercial, industrial property, and it's pretty competitively priced," Burdette said.
He noted the former Johns Manville plant, which closed in 2002, could be the site of a major redevelopment project.
"They are scheduled to come in next month to discuss possible mixed-use redevelopment of that property," he said.
"We are customer-driven, we don't market specific properties. We inventory available properties then once someone tells us what they're looking for, we make recommendations," he explained.
In an effort to improve marketing tools, Burdette said the authority's Web site has been updated and redesigned.
"It's a portal style now, tied to other active information and sites. We hope it's more reactive. Some of the information that was on it was a decade out of date when we started in November," he said.
Burdette said the authority is working closely with local realtors and private citizens who may have developable land available. The agency is also working more closely with state officials, Burdette said.
Wood County Commissioner Bob Tebay, former county planning commission member, businessman and developer, agreed marketing is important, noting some existing sites may need additional preparation to make them more attractive to potential developers.
"We may have to think about rejuvenating and redeveloping some of the properties we have, some of the industrial sites that have been abandoned, like the former Schott Glass plant, part of Ames, Viscose. It really hurts the community when there is so much of it being put into warehouse property, that takes it out of manufacturing, and means fewer jobs," he noted.
"Larger tracts of ground with rail and river availability and out of the floodplain are kind of hard to do. But that's part of what Keith is doing, working on an inventory of what is available," Tebay said.
"It might take five to 10 years before we see the extent of development related to Corridor D. But there will be development at the interchanges. It's important for other businesses that want to locate for accessibility to interstate and river. That makes Parkersburg one of the key locations along the Corridor, river, rail, Interstate 77 and U.S. Route 50. It's a great combination. We need to be aggressive in finding businesses to come in and create jobs. It's jobs that are the key to the whole community, good quality jobs," Tebay said.
One major component in attracting business and jobs is the quality of life the community has to offer, noted Greg Smith, former chairman of the Downtown Development Task Force, president of the board of directors for the Parkersburg Art Center and board member for the Actor's Guild and Artsbridge.
"The biggest thing highlighted in every recent development-related survey on this region has been the effectiveness of arts and culture," Smith said.
The combined efforts of organizations like the Actor's Guild, Art Center and Smoot Theater are the cornerstone for the future of development in downtown and the entire community, he said.
"It's a proven fact that if you have strong culture, theatrical and arts involvement within the community, that allows you to attract those business leaders and professional employees that make a community a better place," Smith said.
Posted with permission from The Parkersburg News & Sentinel
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