Kingsport City Manager Chris McCartt, left, and Kingsport Mayor Pat Shull go over agenda items Tuesday night at its regularly scheduled business meeting.
Kingsport City Manager Chris McCartt, left, and Kingsport Mayor Pat Shull go over agenda items Tuesday night at its regularly scheduled business meeting.
KINGSPORT — The Kings- port Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved a resolution Tuesday night 7-0 to enter into a partnership to help develop a proposed 160-acre industrial park at Holston Army Ammunition Plant.
The resolution, approved during the board’s regularly scheduled business meeting, allows the city to partner with Holston Business Development Center, which will take the lead in developing the site.
“This is a project, I can tell you, that for probably 15 to 20 years we’ve been working on in various different capacities, and this is the furthest we’ve ever been able to get with it,” Kingsport City Manager Chris McCartt said.
The city, Hawkins County, the U.S. Army and BAE Systems, the current contractor for the ammunition plant, are joining together to develop the site, which borders Highway 11-W.
Fourteen acres of the project lie within Kingsport’s city limits, while the rest is in Hawkins County.
Officials said the hope is that it could possibly house a warehouse-type facility and it also has rail access.
The Hawkins County Commission recently approved its part of the resolution to partner with the business development center.
Last winter, the Kingsport Industrial Development Board paid $12,000 to survey the site.
McCartt said the results were very good.
“It’s some of the best land in the city of Kingsport,” he said. “It’s very favorable to economic development.”
Kingsport Mayor Pat Shull complimented the city staff on how they have been working with partners to get the project to this point.
“It’s not a complete done deal, but it’s on a good path and we’re pretty optimistic about it,” he said.
Vice Mayor Colette George agreed.
“Everybody is coming together,” she said.
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