BEDFORD – Two of the Lawrence County Commissioners voted this morning to allow the Lawrence County Redevelopment Commission to finance a $5.2 million shell building in Mitchell’s Industrial Park with Tax Increment Finance district funds.
Two commissioners Wally Branham and Rodney Fish voted to approve a resolution to authorize the issuing of bonds for the projects with interest payments being made from the Dunn Hospital Fund and those funds would then be reimbursed through the revenue generated from the RDC’s Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district.
Commissioner President Dustin Gabhart voted against the request saying construction should wait until the TIF district begins generating funds. Once that happens they could build the shell building.
“Two million is a pretty big gamble and then ask taxpayers to bail you out if things don’t work out as expected,” added Gabhart. “It just doesn’t settle well with me. Two million is an awful big risk.”
The 50,400-square-foot building could be expanded to 200,000 square feet to accommodate the growth of a future tenant and will be built on a 14-acre plot provided by the City of Mitchell.
It is being developed in partnership with GM Development Companies, based in the Henry County town of Springport. Shelbyville-based Runnebohm Construction is overseeing construction.
Construction is slated to begin this fall and be complete by the summer of 2024.
Once the building is completed it will be sold for $6.2 million.
“If the dominoes fall right we will never have to take ownership of the building in 2025 and it will be sold before then,” said Redevelopment Commission President Jeff Quyle
