Jackson Progress-Argus

By Michael Davis

mdavis@myjpa.com

The development company under contract to shop the Butts County Industrial Development Authority's vast tract in southern Butts County could begin showing the land to potential users before the year is up, the authority's chairman told Butts County commissioners on Monday.

Bryan Bush, chairman of the Industrial Development Authority, said Panattoni Development Company has a couple of prospects and "hopefully they will come to show the property in the fourth quarter of this year."

The authority owns a 284-acre tract of land at the Riverview Business Park off Ga. Highway 36 at Interstate 75. Initial plans for the property included a mixed-use development, but officials have been working for some time to secure industrial users. Earlier this year, the development authority inked an agreement with Panattoni to market the property while the authority works to ready it for development.

Bush discussed with commissioners, on Monday, the status of the property and other matters pertaining to the development authority.

He told commissioners that Panattoni has agreed to pay the authority $2,000 per acre over and above what the authority puts into the land at Riverview.

Bush said the development authority has worked with the Butts County, et al. Water & Sewer Authority to extend water and sewer utilities to the site at a cost of $116,000.

Of the additional $120,000 budgeted by the Butts County Industrial Development Authority to prepare the tract for development, about $72,000 has been spent, Bush said. That ongoing due-diligence work includes soil tests, surveys, environmental studies, road engineering and other preparations.

"It is a large site. It offers a large floorplate for big buildings that are relatively rare in this part of the world," Bush said. "We feel like ... we've got a pretty good asset there and can market that to some big users and that would be a great thing to have here in our county. They [Panattoni] have told us they are actively working on it, and have a couple of prospects now and hopefully they will come to show the property in the fourth quarter of this year."

Proposals for the site include one building that could be as large as 2 million square feet in size, in addition to other buildings.

The authority recently refinanced a $4.3 million loan on the tract in order to defer hefty loan payments for a longer period of time and free up cash to be used in the preparation work. The authority, whose director is also the county administrator, Alan E. White, receives funding from the Butts County Board of Commissioners.

"We are doing everything we can to get the site ready as quickly as possible, because one of these days the economy is going to turn around and we want to be ready with that site, at that time," Bush said.