TEXARKANA, Ark. - A site recently leased by the city and Miller County for the purpose of regional economic development is northeast of the city limits near where U.S. Highway 67 crosses Interstate 30.
Before sale of the land closed in December, officials declined to reveal the site's location. But a map requested by the Gazette on Tuesday shows the outline of the 1,362-acre tract to be used as incentive for heavy manufacturing plants to locate in the Texarkana region, bringing new jobs.
The land abuts U.S. 67 and the Union Pacific railroad to the northwest and also has I-30 frontage. Access to such transportation infrastructure is one of the site's main selling points.
Formerly the Day family farm, the land was once part of the Homan, Arkansas, community and supported a dairy, meat packing and rendering operations, timber farming, and a general store, according to local resident Bill Brock, who remembers working there as a boy in the late 1950s. More recently, it has been home to pecan orchards.
The city Public Facilities Board issued bonds to fund buying the land for more than $4 million. The PFB will lease the land to the city and Miller County at a cost sufficient to service that bond debt.
A process of certifying the land - including an environmental assessment and identifying permitting timelines and infrastructure costs - has begun and is expected to be completed in three to six months.
The plan is to offer the land to a major employer such as an auto or aerospace manufacturer as incentive for locating operations there. Rob Sitterley, CEO of regional economic development advocacy group AR-TX REDI, has said he is in touch with business-location consultants about the site and promised a "full court press" of efforts to "aggressively, proactively" market it.