Poplar Bluff officials hope a $1.5 million grant will provide infrastructure improvements that would make an industrial site more attractive to potential employers.
The city is seeking the money from a Community Development Block Grant, for a 100% grant-funded project, said City Manager Matt Winters.
The improvements would be made in the area of 54 acres of land purchased by Poplar Bluff Industries, the economic arm of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce.
The property is located near the current industrial park on the city’s south side.
“All of the property available for industrial development is full right now,” Winters said. “We have a great strong manufacturing base in our community, but right now we don’t have any sites available for any manufacturers that would come to Poplar Bluff.
“Partnering with PBI and the Chamber is a good way for us to plan for the future (and) to add to our already strong manufacturing base that we have locally.”
The grant would fund a new city street between Fair Street and Highway 142, just north of Pike Creek, according to legal ads published for a notice of public review in a 100-year floodplain. It would also pay for a new berm, water line extension, sewer line extension and detention basins.
“This will prepare the city of Poplar Bluff for a proposed business that is estimated to bring at least 75 jobs to the city in the first two years,” according to the legal ad. “The new city street will provide truck access to the loading/unloading docks at the back of the proposed building and provide a turnaround area for the tractor-trailer trucks.”
While Winters said he did not have information on any possible future businesses, he said the goal is to market this property in the same way PBI marketed the industrial site that now is home to Empire Comfort Systems and Primo Grills.
The grant is part of an open cycle, with no deadline for applications, but Winters estimates the city would know about an award within 60 days of submittal.
The berm would be constructed along the north side of Pike Creek to provide flood protection, according to officials. The project site is located in approximately 4 acres of floodplain, according to FEMA floodplain maps.
Comments on the proposed work are being taken by the city until Sept. 10.