4/18/2005

“Today is the culmination of a dream and vision I have had for this community since I was a young man,” said County Mayor Claude Ramsey.  “I have made it a priority to bring this land under community control so that it can be developed in a way that brings strong businesses and good jobs to this county.  This accomplishment is the result of strong partnerships between the city, county, state and federal governments and demonstrates what can be accomplished when our community works together.”

The Mayors praised the work of Congressman Zach Wamp, the Army, TDEC and the EPA for helping significantly speed up the transfer of the property, and the General Services Administration for the important role it has played in causing this final transfer to occur.  The Mayors also expressed great optimism that the site will provide the community with one of the most important job creation opportunities in its history. 

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City and County take control of remaining land at Enterprise South
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“I look forward to continuing the work of bringing good family-wage jobs to Enterprise South,” said Chattanooga Mayor-Elect Ron Littlefield.  “The city will continue to work in partnership with the County to aggressively market this important site and our community to manufacturing and business prospects across the country.”

The Chamber, along with city, county, state and federal governments have devoted significant efforts and resources toward developing Enterprise South Industrial Park to be one of the nation’s premier industrial parks with a focus on ensuring the site attracts the largest number of high paying jobs possible.  Over the past two years roads, sewers and an entrance have been added at Enterprise South, complementing the existing rail lines that are on the site.  An interchange off of I-75 which will connect directly to the site is currently under construction and business is already being conducted at Enterprise South.  Over the next few years, many other businesses and jobs will be added in our community as a result of this effort.

According to Trevor Hamilton, Vice President of Economic Development for the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the transfer of acreage positions Enterprise South Industrial Park to achieve full certification for automotive assembly through the TVA's Megasite Certification Program, but McCallum Sweeney Consulting must complete their review before any final determination is made.

"One of the requirements for certification was the acquisition of more land at Enterprise South, which will serve to 'square up' the megasite parcel, making it more attractive to automobile assembly companies," Hamilton said.  "We're submitting the transfer documents to McCallum Sweeney Consulting for their review.  We hope that we've cleared the final hurdle and will have some good news to share soon."

The purchase price for the 1,787 acres being acquired is $12.5 million which will be split equally between the city and the county.  Because of special legislation passed by Congressman Zach Wamp, $5.5 million of the total purchase is being deferred for 10 years and with no interest.

Earlier this month, the city and county assumed ownership of “Enterprise South Nature Park,” a  2,800 acre passive park adjacent to Enterprise South Industrial Park which is currently being developed.  The land, which is not suitable for industrial development, was made available through the National Park Service’s Lands to Parks program and required no funding from the city or the county.  

Together, Enterprise South Industrial Park and Enterprise South Nature Park bring together nearly 6,000 acres of land that had not been open for public use since the early 1940’s.

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