Now that Coweta County has bought more than 900 acres to market to industrial prospects, work begins to discover any upgrades that may have to be done on the infrastructure at the property.

County attorney Mitch Powell told the Coweta County Commissioners Tuesday night that the county signed off on the documents Aug. 12 and now owns the more than 900 undeveloped acres in the Shenandoah Industrial Park.

The Board of Commissioners decided to get into the industrial park business in June by purchasing 940 acres in the Shenandoah Industrial Park for $13.5 million.

The county decided to purchase the property near Interstate 85 after receiving a positive feasibility study from the county's consulting firm, Robert and Company, and receiving a favorable appraisal on the property.

In announcing the purchase, Commission Chairman Lawrence Nelms said the purchase would allow the county to choose the type of industry that would be good for the county.

The purchase will be financed by industrial revenue bonds and the bonds will be paid back as tracts are sold to industrial prospects.

“This is going to be very beneficial to everybody in the county,” said Commissioner Vernon “Mutt” Hunter.

Commissioner Jim McGuffey also was pleased with the purchase and said this shows the county is being “proactive” in trying to bring in more industry.

For $13.5 million, the county will receive 940 acres of property, including 90 acres of wetlands, all maps, engineering studies and future road and sewer plans for the property.

Nearly 700 acres of the property lie east of Interstate 85 near and behind Walt Sanders Road. The other 200 acres are west of the interstate and abuts the currently developed park.

While the property on the eastern side is extremely attractive to prospects, Powell said the western part of the property may have an advantage since it already has existing roads near it and also a rail line in close proximity.

Before the county starts marketing the property to industrial prospects, Powell suggested a study to assess the adjoining property and the roads in the recently purchased property.

“The land on the north side and east side of this property is owned by a few land owners. It would be good to analyze the land use and see how it fits in with our property,” he said.

The study could be done in-house and Powell said the study could give the commissioners a good idea of the future viability of the industrial park.

The commissioners agreed with his assessment and asked staff to start assessing the scope of the study and report back to the board.

Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page