Aerospace Park
State, regional, and local officials gathered in October for an event to celebrate the remarkable funding efforts at Aerospace Park. The largest investment, $8.5 million, is being covered by Sullivan and Washington counties and the cities of Bristol, Johnson City, and Kingsport. TDOT awarded $4.1 million toward the project, TNECD contributed a $500,000 Rural Development Grant, and TVA awarded Tri-Cities Airport an InvestPrep Grant. When complete with the funded phase of the site, the already prepared and Select Tennessee Certified Site of 32 acres will increase to 105 acres, nearly completing the entire park. Aerospace Park has direct runway access and partners with NETWORKS to market the site to fixed wing projects, with an emphasis on MRO operations.
Bristol Business Park
In August, Bristol Tennessee Essential Services broke ground on a site development project: 36 acres of a 50acre site will be excavated to suit the construction of a 420,000 square-foot building. This project was made possible by a $500,000 TNECD Rural Development Grant and TVA InvestPrep Grant. Bristol Business Park, a BTES-owned property, is one of four Select Tennessee Certified Sites in the NETWORKS service area.
Partnership Park II
NETWORKS property Partnership Park II received the largest award possible in a Site Development Grant from TNECD. The $1 million will be used to complete site grading improvements to create a 30-acre pad-ready rail site. Partnership Park II is also a Select Tennessee Certified Site.
College and University Partnerships
Northeast State Community College and the Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing (RCAM) continued to grow this year with strategic partnerships that will support workforce development in the region. In August, Northeast State and Bristol-based King University announced a dual admission agreement, which eases the transition from community college to a four-year program by providing guidance from academic advisors at both institutions, and culminates in a lower-cost bachelor’s degree. Northeast State’s Aviation Technology program announced an expanded laboratory for students later that month. Milligan College and Northeast State also renewed their transfer agreement for nursing, allowing Northeast State graduates to enter Milligan with junior status in the BSN program for initial licensure. Tusculum University also signed a dual admission agreement with Northeast State.
PRODU CT DEVELOPMENT
The best marketing and recruitment programs will not mean much to a community that does not have places for companies to locate or one that cannot provide a skilled workforce or the programs and facilities for continued training. Last year, NETWORKS and its partners were able to continue their tradition of making sound investments in our economic development product, with the assistance of some meaningful site development grants, and our education and workforce development organizations gave us plenty of good news to market.
In October, Northeast State celebrated a $29.8 million, 114,475 square-foot Technical Education Complex with a groundbreaking. The ground floor will house lab space for skill sets related to advanced manufacturing, including welding, CNC machining, and HVAC. The top floor will be home to Business Technologies programs and will have space for programs such as computer programming and cyber security. Dr. Bethany Flora was appointed as President of Northeast State in November following James King’s retirement. Dr. Flora was previously the associate director of the Center for Community College Leadership at ETSU, where she also served as an associate professor of postsecondary leadership. NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership Annual Report • 2018 • 9