News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Jackson County Industrial Development Board ratified a purchase-to-sale agreement Tuesday for an industrial building on North Grundy Quarles Highway.
The county will pay $100,000 in earnest fees, and close the $1.1 million purchase within 45 days after due diligence. Jackson County Mayor Randy Heady said he hopes to lease the space to an employer that can bring 50-75 jobs to the county.
“While I’m excited at the potential of owning the building for our community, more importantly, I had to make sure that we did our due diligence and we purchased a property that was good,” Heady said. “And we’ve done that. We’ve checked, and then double-checked, and then checked those two checks just to make sure that what we’re doing is right.”
Heady said the building’s current owner has fixed leaks, conducted a mold assessment, and recently finished a pest extermination project. He said the county has been in contact with several potential lessees for the space at 1107 Grundy Quarles Highway. Heady said he hopes to be able to announce a lessee soon.
“I’m excited,” Heady said. “The key is, you find good-paying jobs for the people that you get. We don’t need $10-an-hour jobs, we need good-paying jobs.”
He said a two-phase environmental assessment was conducted to determine if the building was safe for workers, as much of the work done in the building when it was operational involved oil. He said a third party examined the building and decided it was appropriate for industrial use.
“I bet I’ve been asked 100 times, “Mayor, why can’t you get someone in that building? That building’s empty,'” Heady said. “And the reason is, we didn’t own it.”
He said there is a high bay roof that needs to be replaced at some point, but not in the immediate future. He said a replacement project for that portion of the roof would cost some $39,000.
Heady said he would be relieved to finally be able to have some cars in the parking lot and see the building in use and housing a thriving business.
