By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
City of Atmore officials had been waiting anxiously for receipt of the SEEDS Act money they were awarded. Now they have the check in hand.
Nick Hadley, a business development specialist with the Alabama Department of Commerce, brought a giant facsimile check in the amount of $703,246.78 to city hall last Wednesday morning, November 27.
The state industrial development money will allow the city to purchase a 21.78-acre tract and a 59.9-acre tract from Swift Brothers LLC, as well as tracts of 4.19 acres and 40.11 acres from Swift Land and Timber, for potential industrial location here.
The SEEDS Act award will fund two-thirds of the cost of acquiring the Swift property, with the city having to pay the other one-third. The purchase gives the city ownership of potential development property that extends from “northward, up to Industrial Boulevard and eastward to Jack Springs Road,” creating a unified parcel of land that covers more than 160 acres. The city already owns a 19-acre parcel just off Swift Road.
The SEEDS Act, approved by the Alabama Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey last year, provides cities, counties and other local government entities with funds to assist with development of industrial property and the acquisition of new land for business and industrial use.
Jess Nicholas, executive director of the Escambia County Industrial Development Authority, said the SEEDS Act is just what Atmore and other rural communities need.
“SEEDS is something we’ve been wanting and needing in the rural areas for quite some time,” said the county industrial development recruiter, who was on hand for the check presentation. “Most smaller areas can’t tackle projects like this on their own, so (industrial and commercial land-seekers) just go to larger cities that can.
“We’re all after the same thing here — we want to make our community more attractive to business, because we want those businesses to locate here, hire our people, pay good wages and enrich their lives. And I believe this program checks all those boxes.”
Joining Hadley and Nicholas for the check presentation were State Sen. Greg Albritton, State Rep. Alan Baker, Mayor Jim Staff, Mayor Pro Tem Shawn Lassiter, City Clerk Becca Smith and West Escambia Utilities Manager Kenny Smith.
Baker said the state badly needs more potential space on which industrial or business entities can build facilities and begin operations.
“Alabama has become attractive to business, but we’ve run short of sites,” the state rep said. “This Act provides the seed money for these communities to help locate and develop sites.”
Albritton praised area officials for having the foresight to seek a slice of the $40 million set aside for the first phase of SEEDS Act funding, a move that will strengthen Atmore Industrial Park.
“All across the state, this act is making us more site-ready,” said Albritton. “There is a lot of vision in this area that a lot of small towns don’t have.”
Staff agreed that city officials expect big things to sprout from the SEEDS money.
“We really needed this for our industrial park,” the mayor said. “It puts us on the map in a big way and tells industries that we’re open for business and will do what needs to be done to get them here.”