Central Kentucky had an impact 2017 in business | Lexington Herald Leader

Business news has been pretty good for Kentucky and Kentuckians this year. In total, about $8.9 billion and 16,500 jobs were announced by the state in 2017, according the Cabinet for Economic Development.

A $1.3 billion aluminum rolling mill, that would create 1,000 construction jobs and 550 permanent jobs was announced for Greenup County in April.

EnerBlü Inc., a Riverside, Calif.-based company, announced earlier this month it is planning to build a $372 million power battery production plant in Pikeville, that would initially employ 300 workers with plans to employ 875 employees during its fourth year of operation.

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Earlier this year Amazon announced a $1.5 billion air hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The hub would include 40 aircraft over 920 acres and will eventually hire 2,000, 600 full-time, according to Amazon.

But what happened in Central Kentucky? There were strides made in Kentucky’s bourbon industry, much of which is located here, creating more than 15,000 jobs and injecting $8.5 billion into the Kentucky economy.

And here are a few highlights of other economic news in the area.

Woodford County

Versailles, the county seat, experienced a boon of economic development with More Than A Bakery, a facility that makes cookies, crackers and crumbs, opening in November. Affiliated with Richmond Baking Company in Indiana, the plant hired 50 people with plans to double that in the coming year. The goal is to eventually hire 310 people in four years.

CastlePost was sold for $8.7 million and will soon be home to an onsite farm, while still continuing to serve as a restaurant and hotel.

While Ledvance, a company that makes lighting products, closed its Winchester plant, the company invested more into its Versailles plant, including a $1 million building extension.

The Louisville-based wine and spirits company Brown-Forman, which owns Woodford Reserve, continued construction on barrel warehouses in Woodford County.

Also in Woodford County, Midway opened two major business this year: Lakeshore Learning Materials, a distributor of school supplies, and American Howa Kentucky, an automobile parts plant. Together, the two businesses will eventually provide more than 350 jobs.

John Soper, chairman of the Woodford Economic Development Authority, said Lakeshore Learning and More Than a Bakery were probably the most significant economic accomplishments this year.

“It dramatically changed the finances of those two cities, as well as the county,” he said.

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said the businesses signal a change in Midway’s economy. Previously, the town of about 1,700 depended on its downtown businesses for revenue. Now, the small city is shaking up the way it brings in money.

“We’re kind of industrializing our economy,” he said.

Vandegrift anticipates more industry to be brought to Midway, he said, because Lexington has limited land to build more industry and Midway has the only industrial land left in Woodford County. Vandegrift said he believes Midway’s proximity to Georgetown’s Toyota plant, Interstate-64, and Lexington were key factors in bringing Lakeshore Learning and American Howa Kentucky to Midway.

Future economic developments in Woodford County include Castle and Key Distillery, which is scheduled to open next year, along with a new Holiday Inn Express hotel in Versailles, Soper said.

Scott County

Scott County is slated to be the fastest growing Kentucky county for the next several decades and Toyota in Georgetown is at the heart of all that growth.

Toyota announced a wave of changes in the Georgetown plant this year, including a $1.33 billion investment in the company’s largest plant in the world. The company also unveiled an $80 million engineering center. Wil James, who was president of the plant for seven years, announced his retirement, and Susan Elkington will take his place, becoming the first woman to be plant president.

Other growth included several new chain business and restaurants, such as RV retailer Camping World and the fast food restaurant Raising Cane’s.

The county also experienced a surging nightlife with old and new bars. Country Boy Brewing opened in February in the Lanes Run Business Park, where the company is now producing Cougar Bait and Shotgun Wedding beers. Other bars, such as The Slainte Public House, celebrated its first anniversary and the popular Galvin’s restaurant moved to a new location that had more seating and room for beers on tap.

The county also improved infrastructure, opening a AT&T tower in Sadieville, helping improve internet access to rural Scott County and also began expanding Lemons Mill Road, a major road in Georgetown .

Jack Conner, director of Scott County United, a group that assists companies with economic development, said there was so much development in Scott County, he was hard pressed on where to start talking about it all.

“That’s like asking me to write a book in 30 seconds. I can’t do that,” he said.

As for what’s next in development for Scott County, a sizable subdivision in north Georgetown that could potentially have more than 400 homes is in the works and the town must address a failing sewer system that serves a trailer park of about 2,000. Construction will also continue on Great Crossing High School, the county’s second high school, scheduled to open in August 2019.

Jessamine County

In Jessamine County, Alltech, a biotechnology company, announced a $21 million expansion of its Nicholasville Headquarters. Currently under construction, the expansion is a three-story office space that is about 70,000 square feet. It is expected to create 100 jobs with an average hourly wage of $35. Tim Cross, city engineer for Nicholasville, said it’s very exciting for the county because “Alltech is a worldwide company.”

R.J. Corman Railroad Group announced a new apprenticeship program which will begin next year and will focus on high school students and U.S. veterans. Once selected, the apprentice will get on-the-job and classroom training.

For the future, Cross said there are efforts to get new businesses in an industrial park purchased this year. The park is about 80 acres and is located near the U.S. 27 bypass toward the southern part of the county.

Construction began on an extension to the existing Brannon Road east from Lauderdale Drive to Tates Creek Road in Jessamine County, just south of the Fayette County line. The extension, to be completed in June 2019, will be a little more than 2 miles long and will have bicycle lanes.

Cross said he hopes these recent economic developments will attract more Nicholasville residents to work in the city instead of going to Lexington to work.

“We have the knowledge base of people in our own community,” he said. “We have excellent schools. We have good graduation rates. We have a very educated population. There’s no reason why our community can’t attract and maintain better businesses.”

Brandon Mattingly, communications specialist for the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, attributed the economic boom to state leadership and recent changes in Kentucky legislation.

“This has been an unprecedented year for the commonwealth in terms of economic development, and that is due largely to a widespread effort to change the way we approach business in Kentucky,” he said in a prepared statement, citing the state’s right-to-work legislation and the repeal of prevailing wage regulations.