Georgia, like the rest of the United States is in a recession. But in Coweta County, things are simply not that bleak. Tuesday at his office, Coweta County Development Authority President Bill Harrison shared his thoughts on the Coweta’s experiences in 2008 and on what lies ahead in 2009 and beyond.

Doubtless the biggest economic news to hit Coweta County in 2009 began in 2008 when Kia Motor Corp. began hiring for its new plant in West Point near LaGrange. Located approximately 45 miles down I-85 from Newnan, the $1 billion assembly plant will employ approximately 3,000 people with another 3,000 to be employed at several supplier plants located on-site and in neighboring counties, Harrison said. Beyond that, the plant is expected to generate another 12,000 jobs in ancillary businesses along the I-85 corridor from Atlanta to Alabama.

“Kia is beginning to hire. The presence and operation of Kia in the next five years will remake the corridor and change the face and nature of everything between the airport and the Alabama line,” Harrison said. “The plant’s target opening date is before the end of 2009, but it could be the first quarter of 2010 before the first salable car comes off the line.”

The West Point facility is the South Korean automaker’s first assembly plant operation in the United States.

Addressing 2008 proper, Harrison said the unnamed company involved with “Project Surge” is expected to be operational by April. In the works for some time, Harrison said the 455,000 square-foot, $40 million facility in the Coweta Industrial Park will be a “high-tech,” high-end electronics distribution company that will bring more than 100 jobs to Coweta.

The fruits of labor for the Development Authority in 2008 will also lead to the completion of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Detection Dog Training Center in 2009. The national and international facility will create more than 30 jobs. But the enhanced benefit, Harrison said, is that the facility will bring in up to 300 trainees per week. An array of local businesses will benefit from trainees’ ongoing presence in the community, he said.

Other accomplishments in 2008 included the announcement by Falcon Aviation to locate its headquarters at the airport. The move will bring 60 new employees to the county. Also in 2008, MC Precast celebrated the grand opening of its new facility in Newnan South Industrial Park. Adding 60 jobs and several million dollars of investment, Harrison said the facility will include the latest technology for producing hollow-core, pre-stressed concrete forms for a variety of production projects.

Another event in 2008, one that will extend and expand over time, was the groundbreaking for the new Piedmont Newnan Hospital on Poplar Road. The 8-story, $200 million project will establish Newnan as a center for medical treatment, medical research and technology development.

Still another accomplishment in 2008 was the purchase of the Camp “Mega-site” property by a private developer. The site of 1,186 contiguous acres is located strategically along 10,000 feet of railroad between I-85 and U.S. Highway 29 near Moreland.

Harrison spoke of the ongoing recession and its affect on the local, regional and national economies. He said the outlook for Coweta and southwest metro Atlanta in the near-term is good, especially for Coweta.

”It’s been a tough year for everybody, but on the other hand we’ve got a good balance here,” he said, noting the shift in development in recent years into southwest metro Atlanta and Coweta County in particular. “It used to be that you couldn’t get good, quality investment south of I-20. Once that changed, they looked down the highway (I-85) and saw opportunities. Geography puts us in a fortunate position with reasonable access to Hartsfield. We have relatively inexpensive industrial land and more coming on-line. I think we’ll probably track ahead of the economy. We’re still creating jobs and that’s going to help through 2009. Coweta County’s going to have a growth rate that exceeds the state and most of the surrounding counties.”

Harrison said the county has one big challenge that must be met. That challenge is sewer service.

“We’re behind the curve on sewer treatment capacity and service lines,” he said. “But we’ve made progress and we have plans in place to connect some of the area along I-85.”

Harrison summed up his comments with an overall assessment of where he sees Coweta headed. All in all, it is an interesting prospect for the future.

“I think we’ll see more than our share of good quality industrial development,” he said. “We could become a major center for medical research, medical technology and medically-related product development and manufacturing.”

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