Alabama Super Sites

Interstate 59 Site
Ashville, Alabama
The Interstate 59 site was looked at by Honda officials before that company’s site searchers chose another tract in Talladega County, Ala., for a minivan plant that is currently under construction. This site has 1,870 acres available for one user, yet subdivision of the site is negotiable. The site’s location is between U.S. Highway 11 and I-59 (two miles of interstate frontage), one mile southwest of the city limits of Ashville. Ashville is located about 30 miles northeast of Birmingham.
While electricity is available on the site, gas, sewerage and water mains are located two miles from the site. Norfolk Southern provides a mainline rail at the southern portion of the site that parallels Interstate 59. The general terrain of the site is level and soil tests have been completed.

• Acres: 1,870
• Unique characteristics: Rail, two miles of interstate frontage
• Suited for: Large manufacturing plants, including automotive

Barton Riverfront Industrial Park
Colbert County, Alabama
One of the problems you may encounter regarding a super site is multiple ownership of the property. You won’t have that problem with the Barton Riverfront Industrial Park. Formerly known as the Barton site, this 1,600-acre tract on the Tennessee River in Northwest Alabama is owned exclusively by the Shoals Economic Development Authority.

The Barton site has had numerous environmental studies completed and no impediments to manufacturing have been found. The utility infrastructure is remarkable. There is a Tennessee Valley Authority electric power plant on the site. There are multiple natural gas suppliers serving the site with 30” and 36” lines. In regards to water, one 8” line exists on the property with an 18” line within 1,000 feet of the site. A 500,000 gallon elevated storage tank is under construction as is a 2.5 mgd potable water treatment plant. Design engineering and permitting for a wastewater treatment plant on the site is in the works as well.

This site features mainline rail service (Norfolk Southern) adjacent to the site, the Tennessee River along its northern boundary (9-foot navigable channel), and four-lane U.S. Highway 72 at the southern boundary. An improved four-lane access road to the park is in final engineering stages.

For more information on the Barton Riverfront Industrial Park contact Forrest Wright at 256-764-0351 (see ad page 87).

• Acres: 1,600
• Unique characteristics: Rail, waterfront, with electric power plant on site.
• Suited for: Large manufacturing and heavy industry such as paper or steel

Northeast Opelika Industrial Park
Opelika, Alabama
This 1,900-acre site was the bridesmaid in the recent Nissan site search. Of course, that project landed just north of Jackson, Miss., near Canton. However, to place second in a site search by Nissan for a new $930 million automotive plant should tell you something about this southeast Alabama super site. The park is situated on Interstate 85 only 15 minutes away from Auburn University, home to over 22,000 students, 4,100 of which are involved in engineering studies. Southern Union State is only five minutes from the new industrial park. Atlanta Hartsfield International is only an hour and 15 minutes away.

• Acres: 1,900
• Unique characteristics: Rail, interstate frontage
• Suited for: Large manufacturing (including automotive), distribution, electronics