Now that

Coweta County has bought more than 900 acres to market to

industrial prospects, work begins to discover any

upgrades that may have to be done on the infrastructure

at the property.

County

attorney Mitch Powell told the Coweta County

Commissioners Tuesday night that the county signed off on

the documents Aug. 12 and now owns the more than 900

undeveloped acres in the Shenandoah Industrial Park.

The Board

of Commissioners decided to get into the industrial park

business in June by purchasing 940 acres in the

Shenandoah Industrial Park for $13.5 million.

The county

decided to purchase the property near Interstate 85 after

receiving a positive feasibility study from the county's

consulting firm, Robert and Company, and receiving a

favorable appraisal on the property.

In

announcing the purchase, Commission Chairman Lawrence

Nelms said the purchase would allow the county to choose

the type of industry that would be good for the county.

The

purchase will be financed by industrial revenue bonds and

the bonds will be paid back as tracts are sold to

industrial prospects.

"This

is going to be very beneficial to everybody in the

county," said Commissioner Vernon "Mutt"

Hunter.

Commissioner

Jim McGuffey also was pleased with the purchase and said

this shows the county is being "proactive" in

trying to bring in more industry.

For $13.5

million, the county will receive 940 acres of property,

including 90 acres of wetlands, all maps, engineering

studies and future road and sewer plans for the property.

Nearly 700

acres of the property lie east of Interstate 85 near and

behind Walt Sanders Road. The other 200 acres are west of

the interstate and abuts the currently developed park.

While the

property on the eastern side is extremely attractive to

prospects, Powell said the western part of the property

may have an advantage since it already has existing roads

near it and also a rail line in close proximity.

Before the

county starts marketing the property to industrial

prospects, Powell suggested a study to assess the

adjoining property and the roads in the recently

purchased property.

"The

land on the north side and east side of this property is

owned by a few land owners. It would be good to analyze

the land use and see how it fits in with our

property," he said.

The study

could be done in-house and Powell said the study could

give the commissioners a good idea of the future

viability of the industrial park.

The

commissioners agreed with his assessment and asked staff

to start assessing the scope of the study and report back

to the board.