San Angelo's Industrial Park Gets Boost by AEP's Economic Development Program

The City of San Angelo and its Development Corporation, commonly called COSADC, has obtained help to market land it owns in the industrial park on the northeast side of town at the intersection of Loop 306 and U.S. 67/277. The City and COSADC own 683 mostly undeveloped acres there.

Wednesday afternoon, electricity utility AEP and a land development consultant gave a presentation on certifying a portion of San Angelo’s industrial park land for presentation to corporations seeking sites for manufacturing and office space. Meeting the requirements of AEP’s certification program will hopefully speed acquisition of the land by an entity that will provide jobs to the area and expand San Angelo’s tax base.

AEP’s Raymond Kackley, Manager of National Accounts and Business Development, explained that San Angelo’s industrial park is one of 11 sites nationwide that AEP and its consultant McCallum Sweeney Consulting selected to certify in their program. Once certified, AEP will continue to offer technical assistance to the City, including incorporating the local industrial park in McCallum Sweeney’s introduction to prospective companies.

Wednesday’s presentation to the community was a prerequisite for Phase III of the three-phase certification process. Having community involvement in economic development can be the “make or break” aspect of a community’s marketing plan to corporations, McCallum Sweeney’s Lindsey Myers said. Yesterday’s event was well attended by local economic development players, including County Judge Steve Floyd, County Commissioner Rick Bacon, and Mayor Dwain Morrison. Members of the City Council-appointed COSADC board were also in attendance, as well as representatives of the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce.

The map above is of the San Angelo Industrial Park. (Contributed, City of San Angelo)

For AEP, the site certification program became the primary focus of its economic development assistance program two years ago. San Angelo is part of the second group of sites to get certified. The objective, AEP’s Kackley explained, is to determine the best of the best. San Angelo’s park is one of 11 sites selected, and now in Phase III of a three-phase program. The stamp of approval of San Angelo’s industrial park will be awarded in early 2015.

After their presentation in San Angelo yesterday afternoon, Kackley and Myers were off to Longview, the location of another site in AEP’s program.