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The Grand Island Area Economic Development Corp. has its work cut out for it during the next 20 days, said Marlan Ferguson, EDC president.
That's how much time the EDC has left to reach an agreement on the purchase price of land at the Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant.
In January, the Hall County Board of Supervisors designated the EDC as the buyer of 1,750 acres of land at the site of the old plant. The EDC hopes to use that portion of the former plant site for an intermodal transportation center and an industrial park with a foreign trade zone.
During a noon Grand Island Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday, Ferguson discussed the EDC's progress on reaching a purchase agreement with the Army.
"We have our work cut out for us," he said.
The land must be sold at fair market value, and the EDC must reach a purchase agreement and pay earnest money by early April.
Ferguson said he doesn't think many people realize that the land the EDC hopes to purchase was the actual site of the plant's ammunition manufacturing operations, and there are many environmental concerns that stem from that prior usage.
Before it finalizes the purchase agreement, the EDC is analyzing the cost of the cleanup, which could include old asbestos pits, concrete foundations and chain-link fencing. The government is responsible for paying for that cleanup, so the costs must be factored into the purchase price.
In the meantime, Ferguson said an appraisal has been completed on the land, and he is confident the EDC and the Army will be able to agree on a dollar amount by the early April deadline. The EDC is working to set up a meeting to negotiate with the Army.
"We hope to have a purchase-agreement number agreed to by this time next week," Ferguson said.
After that, there will be many other hoops the EDC must jump through before the sale is closed. Ferguson estimated the EDC would have possession of the land late this year, sometime between October and December.
However, development of what he calls the Cornhusker Industrial Park will take time.
"We're looking at this as a long-term project," Ferguson said. "It's not going to happen overnight."
The costs of building infrastructure to the CAAP land will be "huge," Ferguson said, and the EDC is looking for grants to help pay for the extension of utilities to the site.
While he predicts it will take up to 20 years to see industrial development at the new park, Ferguson said the wait would be worthwhile.
"The job creation out there could be enormous," he said.
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