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Putnam County officials hope to develop land around the 5th Interchange in 2019.
County Executive Randy Porter said the interchange created easier access to the farmland near the interstate.
“Sometimes it just takes a little while. You know once something is open, [it takes] a few months to get new prospects and new businesses and so forth, looking at it,” Porter said. “And from my knowledge, I know that there have been already businesses looking at that area down there, so I think it just usually takes one to get it started.”
County officials hope to see more development at the 5th Interchange in 2019.
Porter said he would not be surprised to see at least one new business near the interchange this year.
“They are almost always looking for sites that are near the interstate. That is one of the requirements,” Porter said. “So that is what makes me think that this new 5th interchange is going to be very popular in the near future.”
Porter said the Academy Sports Distribution Center may prompt more businesses to develop in the area.
“We have companies coming into Putnam County looking at us almost on a weekly basis,” Porter said. “We get the request for information from the state all the time of companies, both United States companies and international companies that are looking to come here.”
Porter said the interested businesses will remain confidential until the companies decide to announce.
Porter said interchanges naturally bring growth.
“We are always marketing our county for new companies and new businesses to come in,” Porter said. “Lots of times a new interchange, if you look at other parts of the state where a new interchange has come in, go look back at it in five years after it is open and look at the growth that happens around it.”
Porter said the county expects development beyond the 5th interchange as well.
“I think 2019 still looks bright. We have a building boom going on in Putnam County that is record-setting. 2018 was a historical record-setting year for lots of things from retail to manufacturing,” Porter said. “So I think it is just a matter of time that there will be something that will hit on some of that land that is right around the 5th interchange.”
Porter said many developers have expressed interest in the Western part of Putnam County.
The 283-mile marker interchange project began in 2016 and was completed in June 2018. The $23.4 million project also included the grading, drainage, and paving on a state industrial access road, now known as Academy Road.
