By the BF Staff
From the March/April 2020 Issue
According to the authoritative source worldatlas.com, industrial areas—also known as industrial parks or industrial estates—are areas outlined and planned for industrial development. Industrial areas are typically located outside or on the edges of the central residential area of the city and are characterized by the access to transportation which includes road and rail. Therefore, industrial parks can be found at proximity where more than one mode of transport synchronizes with ports, highways, airports, and railroads.
There are some very large industrial areas that exist in the world and serve important functions. Industrial parks solely concentrate on developing industrial facilities in a particular area which helps in the advancement of business activity and the modernization of industries in general. Industrial parks also play a significant part in the growth and development of infrastructure, predominately within transportation.
Where is the world’s largest industrial area? Here are worldatlas.com’s top two:
The Saudi Arabia Jubail Industrial city is known as the largest industrial area in the world. Jubail is located in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Jubail is home to the largest city in the Middle East and hosts the fourth largest petrochemical company in the world and the largest in the Middle East. Jubail has the world’s largest Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP), which produces 800,000,000 liters of water and 2743.6 megawatts of electricity per day.
Jubail was designated as a site for a new industrial city by the Saudi Arabian government in 1975. Currently, Jubail Industrial City is the world’s largest civil engineering project. Jubail is made up of the old town of Al Jubail also known as the Jubail Balad, which dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries and had started as a small fishing village until 1975 when the new industrial area was established. Jubail Industrial area is connected to others cities by two main highways of Abu Hadriyah and Dhahran-Jubail highways, and there is an ongoing project of Jubail-Qassim Expressway.
Alberta’s Industrial Heartland is the biggest industrial park in Canada.
Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, also known as the Heartland or Upgrader Alley, is located outside of Edmonton, Canada. The Heartland is not only the largest industrial area in Western Canada but also a cooperative land use planning and development initiative that is formed between five municipalities found in the capital region of Edmonton. The primary purpose of this cooperation is to draw investment in the oil, chemical, gas and petrochemical industries to the region. The Headland is the largest petrochemical processing regions in Canada covering over 40 petrochemical companies. The Heartland had $13 billion invested in new industrial projects by July 2015, and the projects have provided employment for approximately 25,000 people.
MIDAMERICA INDUSTRIAL PARK: 60 YEARS OF SUCCESS
It has been called an “industrial utopia.” It is the third-largest industrial park in the United States and in the top ten globally. It is located in the heart of the largest concentration of corporate wealth in the United States serving NE Oklahoma and NW Arkansas. It is the MidAmerica Industrial Park celebrating 60 years of success, serving 80 companies and over 4500 employees. Home to Google’s second-largest Data Center in the world and the third-largest Agri-nutrition plant operated by Dupont.
How? MidAmerica is highly sustainable. Located within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation (the nation’s largest tribe), off-the-chart ad valorem tax base that supports K-12 education and the benefits of doing business with MidAmerica as a Public Trust creates the perfect storm of resources, pro-business environment, and life amenities. An industrial Park with benefits like easy access to water, power, training, workforce and minimal zoning and permitting requirements.
History proves that MidAmerica is not only here to stay, but here to grow. Looking forward, MidAmerica is focused on building infrastructure and amenities that will support corporate growth and expansion. MidAmerica’s $2020 is the icing on the cake with a $40M incentive designed to attract new companies.
MidAmerica’s Armin Road and Igloo Valley development have 1000 acres that can be customized to fit virtually any corporate need. These developments have all utilities, roads, and environmental complete making them shovel-ready, buy today build tomorrow.
MidAmerica’s water and waste-water treatment facilities services to industrial customers with plenty of capacity to accommodate future growth.
Grand River Dam Authority is adjacent to the park providing 1900 megawatts of reliable electricity via hydro, wind, coal and natural gas at highly competitive rates.
With land, water, and power readily available, the Park’s “sense of place” is now more important than ever as a key to success. Demographics of all ages are drawn to the amenities of a big city but want the affordability, lifestyle, and convenience of a community. MidAmerica is making this a reality with their newest initiative, The District.
The District, a 162-acre development that incorporates retail, residential, parks, and trails near the Park, is set to open this year. The new development is a fusion of walkable retail areas and residential living combined with a natural environment that offers wide-open spaces and outdoor activity. It includes 32,000 square feet of retail space, a 100-unit multi-story living complex, 100 residential homes, 10 acres of parks and outdoor spaces, with connectivity via walking and biking trail systems.
Finally, to prepare for growth, MidAmerica partners on multiple fronts with area technical schools and universities. Recently the Park invested over $3 million in career centers and state-of-the-art STEM labs in18 area school districts. Additionally, MidAmerica partners with Northeast Technology Center and Rogers State University to create a new “Center of Excellence” combining technology, training, and opportunity. Implementing proven best practices in workforce development, these are just a few examples of MAIPs focus on training.
With these priorities in mind—resources, quality of life, workforce development—David Stewart, Chief Administrative Officer believes that MAIP is on a trajectory to be one of the most innovative and pro-business environments in the nation for corporate growth. “Our resources, quality of life, and workforce development initiatives will fuel MidAmerica’s growth for another 60 years.”
Many cities boast of having land for industrial development, and sometimes they are great sites with utilities and highway access. But sometimes these sites disappoint and fail to live up to expectations. There are “industrial” cornfields and “commercial” landfill sites, and then there are sites so remote and distant from utilities and roads that you have to find them using Google Earth. The alternative to these so-called development properties are to work with economic development professionals who can deliver a curated list of prime sites that exemplify a great industrial or redevelopment site.
Pre-permitted locations have many advantages when time of construction is critical. While some states and organizations have “shovel-ready” designations, there is no consistent standard across the U.S. Connecticut is one of the states where local communities control the land use permitting and the economic development staff can readily identify which sites have approvals in place. New Milford, in western Connecticut about 70 miles from Manhattan, has multiple pre-permitted sites. This offers a significant time advantage to developers who have a project that aligns with what is approved.
NEW MILFORD HELPS YOU ZERO IN ON PRIME SITES
Many cities boast of having land for industrial development, and sometimes they are great sites with utilities and highway access. But sometimes these sites disappoint and fail to live up to expectations. There are “industrial” cornfields and “commercial” landfill sites, and then there are sites so remote and distant from utilities and roads that you have to find them using Google Earth. The alternative to these so-called development properties are to work with economic development professionals who can deliver a curated list of prime sites that exemplify a great industrial or redevelopment site.
Pre-permitted locations have many advantages when time of construction is critical. While some states and organizations have “shovel-ready” designations, there is no consistent standard across the US. Connecticut is one of the states where local communities control the land use permitting and the economic development staff can readily identify which sites have approvals in place. New Milford, in western Connecticut about 70 miles from Manhattan, has multiple pre-permitted sites. This offers a significant time advantage to developers who have a project that aligns with what is approved.
Expedited approvals are another key indicator of a development friendly community. New Milford is one of twenty seven towns and cities in Connecticut who have gone through a streamlining process and become certified as having Best Practices in Land Use and Economic Development. This community has a dedicated Development Services Team led by the Economic Development Director and populated with high level staff. This group reviews proposals in the pre-application phase and maps a course to approval. This method has shortened time to approval and cut through a lot of red tape to make the process quicker and easier. They also coordinate with state agencies such as CT Department of Transportation (DOT) and the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to assist projects in those jurisdictions.
Redevelopment and brownfield sites can bring special challenges, and also provide excellent opportunities for new projects to utilize existing infrastructure. Once these locations have been remediated they are ready for new plans. States like Connecticut are eager to see these sites put back into use as state and federal funds are often leveraged in the cleanup efforts. Many communities may actually own these former brownfields and be willing to work with developers to secure fast approvals, generate innovative designs and negotiate on price. While this process will generally involve more time at the front end, securing the best site and moving through to review and full approvals will be the payoff. An experienced team will be very beneficial in a more complex reuse scenario.
Do communities still develop industrial parks? The former Century Brass location in New Milford has been identified in long range planning as a potential industrial park. With 67 acres now remediated and an adjacent 23 acre parcel zoned industrial, combining these would deliver 90 acres with access to active rail, water and sewer, redundant 3 phase power, natural gas, access to CT 7 connecting to I-84. Sites like this one can go to one user or be subdivided into several. New Milford is beginning the marketing process focusing on advanced manufacturing, bio-manufacturing and technical and scientific companies that will benefit from the highly educated and skilled workers in Litchfield and Fairfield Counties as well as Westchester County, New York just over the border. [This section was written by Karen Pollard.]
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