Millions in state bond money for economic development is headed to Lauderdale County.

Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday signed a bill to issue $3.5 million in bonds to develop the I-20/59 Industrial Park. The bill, authored by Rep. Greg Snowden (R-Meridian) provides funds for the site through a state bond. The money will help the county with costs associated with the project, which is located off Sweet Gum Bottom Road.

Bill Hannah, president of the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation, has pushed for developing the site, which the county cleared of trees and the City of Meridian chose to reroute traffic for site preparation. 

Hannah said the bond money will offset costs for work on the 360-acre site, specifically dirt work to make the ground level. The state will reimburse the county for money already spent on the project, he said. Leveling the ground is a major step in developing the site, as each side has varying elevations, Hannah said.

“There’s probably a 100-foot differential in the side of the park close to the Interstate, compared to the north side of the park,” he said. “It’s really low on the Highway 11/80 side and high on the Interstate side.”

In term of potential industries, Hannah said he plans to start marketing the site soon, using target lists from the state, Mississippi Power and Norfolk Southern. Possible industries could include advanced manufacturing, steel, distribution, or others, Hannah said. A strong possibility is six to eight medium-sized facilities, he said.

“This has been months and months of work by lots of people, never really knowing if it was going to come to fruition or not,” Hannah said. “Our business community’s very excited and the board of supervisors are elated, because they’re going to get their money back. So, it’s good for all of us.”

The county has also applied for a Mississippi Development Authority grant of up to $250,000 for the project. The deadline to prepare the land for development is November, according to Hannah.