MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After more than ten years in the making, the home of the future Memphis Megasite was finally ready to unveil to manufacturers.
The 4,100 acre site off I-40, 30 miles east of Memphis, is still a couple of years from being shovel ready, but the state hopes it will eventually house several major corporations and provide thousands of jobs.
On Tuesday, Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd came to Memphis to announce the state was ready to start marketing the site to major manufacturers.
But they do not want to bring in just one.
“We’d be able to fit anywhere from three to seven major EOMs on this site,” Boyd said. “So, the great thing is we will be able to create a diversified economy. It won’t be one that’s dependent on a single industry, a single company.”
Of course that means jobs; something Shelby County Mayor Mark Lutrell said we are in desperate need of.
“It could be significant. Obviously if we can get a large component that hires thousands of people, then you’re looking at an impact region wide,” he told WREG.
The site has been a work in progress for more than a decade and still will not be ready for construction for a couple more years.
That’s because the state is working to realign a 3 and a half mile stretch off of S.R. 222 from just north of I-40 at Exit 42 to south of Camp Ground Road.
Grading, drainage, base stone, and paving work all still have to be completed.
But Boyd said the payoff will be worth the time and multi millions of dollars invested.
“When a big manufacturer chooses a site, it takes them a couple years to get everything into place. So the timing is right for a new recruit to start the process,” he said.
To promote the Megasite, the state has come up with the slogan, “Mastered in Tennessee.”
They said they picked it, because we do not just make things here, we master trades.
