Public-private partnership formed to develop ‘shovel-ready’ industrial sites

Amid downbeat news on local efforts to attract industrial employers, a public-private partnership group has formed to attract potential employers to Columbia and Boone County.

Literally starting from the ground up, the non-profit organization is actively trying to dig the local economy out of its slump by locating and purchasing large tracts of vacant land, then completing the often difficult pre-permitting activities. The goal is to make the sites “shovel ready” for potential employers.

The Columbia Area Jobs Foundation (CAJF) is a nine-member board made up of community leaders from both the public and private sector. Presiding Commissioner Ken Pearson represents Boone County and City Manager Bill Watkins represents the city. Also serving on the board are representatives from the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and REDI, Regional Economic Development Inc. Although the board has been meeting for more than a year, it just became official in March when it was awarded its non-profit status.

The primary goal of the CAJF is to fill a void in the current shovel-ready land available in Columbia and Boone County. The lack of such sites was identified in a 10-year report compiled by REDI President Bernie Andrews in April. Andrews and his staff compiled a list of companies that considered Columbia and Boone County as project sites between 1997 and 2007. Chief among the reasons that Columbia was passed over in the site selection process was a lack of affordable land ready for construction, according to REDI’s findings. Cases in which the area failed to make the “short list” of potential employers is documented in the 10-year report.

The report states, “The number one reason for the lack of success in the attraction of new manufacturing projects and other desired primary employers to Columbia/Boone County has been the absence of a community-based, non-profit development group continuously working to secure industrial land and create industrial sites with infrastructure that are available at a low-cost or competitive price.”

Foundation President Paul Land describes the CAJF as one more means to attract employers to Columbia. “It’s another tool,” Land said. “If you don’t have the right tools in the toolbox, how are you going to build the appropriate house?”

There is a national movement among cities to offer prepared sites, which expedites the site location decision-making process and can give communities a competitive edge in attracting major employers. The CAJF would negotiate the required hurdles of utility installation, environmental reports, zoning, and traffic counts; thereby eliminating the time and effort a potential buyer would need to get land ready for construction.

According to Land, potential employers want “known utilities, known land prices and known zoning” prior to committing to a site. “We can’t just ask them to sit tight while we try to get land re-zoned for their purposes,” Land says.

Land believes that the Boone County Commission and Columbia City Council may have more faith in an entity like the CAJF than in private property owners. “They may be reluctant to grant certain types of zoning to private property owners, but may be more willing to grant it to an entity like us,” he said.

Although the focus appears to be on moderately priced, shovel-ready land, the ultimate goal of the CAJF is creating employment opportunities in mid-Missouri. “This is about creating jobs,” Andrew said. “Profit’s not the motive; it’s jobs and investment in our community. … We want to complement rather than compete with existing landowners.”

Citing specifically Trade Wind Park, which is to date the largest shovel-ready commercial site in Boone County, Andrews said, “Trade Wind is going to be a great asset. We don’t want to be in competition with private developers. We’re glad they’re putting in parks that are shovel-ready. Our price points will just be different.”

Though there is vacant commercial land in Columbia and Boone County, it’s not the size and topography required by most companies looking to locate here. Although Andrews could not disclose specifics, he did say that members of the CAJF Board had already identified and visited some potential sites for purchase by the group. Also, according to Andrews, the potential sites are on the outskirts of the city. “To keep the price down, we’re going to have to go out a little bit. The group is looking at several options right now,” he said.

Because the CAJF is a not-for-profit foundation, it can accept donations of land and raise money to purchase land. “We haven’t made specific fundraising plans,” Andrews says, “It’s critical that we get started identifying properties.”

Bill Watkins

Ken Pearson

Jeff MacLellan

Steve Erdell

Bernie Andrews

Paul Land