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Prospects eye defunct facility
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| By: Theron Fly |
December 05, 2012 |
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The Twin Creeks project, for all practical purposes, is finished and the City of Senatobia, as well as the State of Mississippi, is now looking to move forward.
The company announced plans in April 2010 to build a manufacturing facility in Senatobia that would build solar panels. In its original plans, the company was to bring more than 500 jobs to the city over a five-year period.
The building materialized, but now the 85,000 square foot facility sits nearly completely empty. At its peak employment, Tate County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Janie Mortimer estimated that the company had about 22 employees working in the building.
Reports have begun to surface that the company has now sold its assets to GT Advanced Technologies of Nashua, N.H. The company isn't believed to have any plans in continuing the operation here.
Senatobia and the state are now looking to market the building.
Prospective companies have already begun to tour the facility and there's been some considerable interest, according to Senatobia Mayor Alan Callicott.
"The challenge is to get a company that will make the best use of the facility," Callicott said. "The good thing, though, is that we have a big building which is generating a lot of excitement."
Callicott said that creating jobs is the city's primary objective.
"I just know that we want jobs in the community, bottom line," Callicott said. "Whether it is with Twin Creeks or not, our bottom line is going to be bringing in jobs."
The building, located on city property in the Senatobia industrial park, was funded by a combination of state money (a combination of loans and grants) and venture capital, according to Mortimer. Mortimer also said that no city or county funding went toward the construction of the building.
The state loaned Senatobia $15 million to construct the building and $8.2 million to buy equipment and also transferred the city $3.5 million in a loan but partially in a grant, to prepare the site and build infrastructure, according to the Associated press.
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©The Democrat 2013
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Peter Belk |
Dec, 05 2012 |
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No City or County Money, what about those loans, they have to be repaid
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