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Oxford West Industrial Park
SPRING 2019
A ribbon cutting was held at Oxford West Industrial Park where the crowd on-hand heard from Calhoun County Economic Development Council’s Board Chairman and Executive Director, the Mayor of Oxford, and representatives from EDPA, and the Alabama Department of Commerce.
OXFORD'S ADVANTAGE
WHEN COLLABORATION LEADS TO WORLD-CLASS OPPORTUNITIES
Mayor Alton Craft cuts the ribbon at the grand opening of Oxford's newest industrial park.
The Calhoun County Economic Development Council is proud to unveil our newest industrial park constructed to bring new jobs to Oxford and Calhoun County. Designated an Alabama AdvantageSite by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, the 130-acre park sits in between Interstate 20 and U.S. 78 on John Wills Ave. Engineering designs were first proposed and reviewed in 2016 and ground was broken in early 2017. The plans for the sign and entrance to the park were designed with the entrance to Oxford’s Choccolocco Park in mind. A ribbon cutting was held at Oxford West Industrial Park late in 2018 where the crowd on-hand heard from Calhoun County Economic Development Council’s Board Chairman and Executive Director, the Mayor of Oxford, and representatives from EDPA, and the Alabama Department of Commerce.
Oxford West is one of only 59 AdvantageSites throughout the state, as well as the second AdvantageSite the EDC has developed in Calhoun County. Managed by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, the AdvantageSite program requires a teamwork approach between the private sector and state and local governments geared toward having prepared products and materials ready for industrial prospects. The program documents all aspects of the site, from geotechnical and environmental conditions to infrastructure and accessibility. Since its inception in 2008, 33 projects have located to AdvantageSites across the state, investing more than $1.4 billion and creating over 6,000 new jobs. Oxford mayor Alton Craft said that he expects the certification will work for Oxford, too. “30 years ago, when Mayor Leon Smith and I started together, you could bring developers out and show them pastures and trees, and they would say, ‘I see your vision,’” Craft explained, “but it’s not that simple anymore.”
Ernie Cowart, Vice President of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, explains that companies are allowing less time for site selection and project construction. “They demand more information up-front, and if your site lacks that, it can knock you out of consideration. They’re demanding a lot more information. This makes sure that information has already been documented and is readily available.”
Mayor Craft spoke highly of the partnership between the EDC and the City of Oxford, thanking the EDC for their commitment to building Oxford West Industrial Park. “Anytime you can get an industrial site like this and have the ability to recruit; it puts us up one more on everybody else,” Craft said. Leaders are excited about the site’s ability to draw industry, resulting in the creation of new job opportunities for our residents.
“We’re excited to make it a world-class industrial park,” Don Hopper, Executive Director of the Calhoun County EDC said. A major selling point is its location between Birmingham and Atlanta. “It’s those kinds of operations that need to be close to those markets that tend to look in this area,” Hopper explains. “Obviously, the automotive industry, as well as the aerospace industry, is large here in the state and Calhoun County.” The
EDC is working closely with the City of Oxford, the Alabama Department of Commerce, EDPA, Alabama Power, and Spire (formerly Alagasco) to market Oxford West. It takes cooperation and good working relationships with everyone involved. “The Alabama Department of Commerce’s job is to sell Alabama, and our job is to sell Calhoun County,” said Hopper.
— MAYOR ALTON CRAFT
THE EDC
The Calhoun County Economic Development Council is an organization that was created in 1982 through an act of the Alabama State Legislature for the purpose of promoting industry, trade, and economic development within Calhoun County. The EDC recruits new industry to Calhoun County and also supports the needs of our existing industries to expand and create new jobs.
Don Hopper, an Oxford resident, has served as the Executive Director since 2002. During his tenure, the EDC has been successful in recruiting a number of new industries to the area, such as Bridgewater Interiors, Kobay Enstel, and Kronospan, as well as assisting numerous existing industries expansions. Just in the last five years, Calhoun County manufacturing industries have seen growth with over $980 million in new investments and more than 2,550 new jobs created.
In 2018 alone, the EDC worked to secure 350 new jobs with more than $130 million in capital investment with our industries. The Board of Directors for the EDC is appointed by elected officials and sets the policy for the Board. The day-to-day operations are carried out by a staff of four. In addition to Hopper, Lucas Gockel, also an Oxford resident, serves as the EDC’s Director of Research and Special Projects. Mary Katherine Ginn has been with the EDC since its inception and serves as our administrative assistant. Lorie Denton serves as our Director of Business Development and is a life-long Oxford resident and 1997 graduate of Oxford High School.
The EDC has taken over 350 educators into more than 15 of our local industries.
INDUSTRY TOURS FOR EDUCATORS
In maintaining our mission to recruit new industries and assist growth within our existing industries, the EDC is committed to ensuring Calhoun County will continue to provide a highly skilled workforce. We are proud of the success continuing to be seen through the Economic Development Council’s creation of industry tours for all educators within Calhoun County. Since July of 2017, the EDC has taken over 350 educators into more than 15 of our local industries.
We are confident this is a tangible way to communicate the abundance of career opportunities to our future workforce through their schools. Most educators spend the majority of their lives in a classroom, making it extremely difficult to communicate with their students what opportunities await them inside our local industries. We are certain whatever we can provide our educators communicates direct success to their students–Calhoun County’s future workforce.
The EDC believes there is a true value in allowing educators and industrial managers a venue to begin forming relationships between one another that are crucial for economic growth in Calhoun County. These efforts have shown us that this was an unmet need, and we see many partnerships already formed between local schools and manufacturing industries. Oxford City Schools continues to be a huge supporter of this mission. Ashley Bunn, a guidance counselor at Oxford Middle School, has seen great success through relationships made through these tours. She consistently has industries come and speak to students about the vast career opportunities we have here locally. The EDC has taken over 40 of Oxford’s principals, assistant principals, guidance counselors, and educators on these tours. Our goal is for all educators pre-k through 12th grade to participate in these tours.
