Breaking
Ground
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EGC Construction will begin work in the next two weeks on the
site
that
will soon be home to new Owen County businesses
McDonald’s
is coming.
A convenience store and gas station are too.
A groundbreaking
ceremony was held Friday at noon at the corner of Hwy. 127 and
Hwy. 22 east, where a McDonald’s, convenient store and Texaco
gas station will sit. Construction begins in a couple of
weeks.
The project
will be – and has been – handled by a number of people.
EGC Construction will be doing the building and expects to get
started within the next two weeks. LMB Associates has worked on
developing the project since February of this year. Ashcraft Realty
has worked as a selling broker.
City and
county officials have done their part as well. Mayor “Milkweed”
Wotier credits the gas line as the reason the county was able
to bring in the new businesses. Phase 1 of the gas line was recently
completed and work is now being done on Phase 2, that will run
from Actaris to Save-a-Lot.
He said
the McDonald’s project has been on the drawing board for
three years. There were issues with the stores’ placement
on the highway, as well as red tape the county had to go through
to get the project going.
“(Now)
we have the right people, place and time,” Wotier said.
“It’s a collective effort.”
He said
the spot being built on is the hottest spot in the county and
said that he didn’t think McDonald’s would come here
if they didn’t think they would have success in the county.
“I
think it’s a dream for many, they thought it would never
come about,” he said. “I love when a possibility comes
to fruition.”
Lloyd Bernstein
is the developer on the project from LMB Associates out of Cincinnati.
He started work on this project in February, though he said others
had already been working on it for a while.
Bernstein worked on bringing together the financing and designing
of the project.
“The
hard part’s done, for me,” Bernstein said, “putting
together all the players.”
He said
the new businesses are an important part of the county’s
economic growth. He said once construction begins, he expects
it will be done within six months.
At the
ground-breaking ceremony the crowd included members of the City
Council, Industrial Authority, Fiscal Court, Chamber of Commerce
and representatives from many local businesses. Representatives
from Geoff Davis’ office, Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s office
and Jim Bunning’s office were on hand, as well as Sen. Damon
Thayer.
Wotier
addressed the crowd at the beginning of the ceremony.
“This
has been a really great experience for us,” he said. “It
will prove to be the beginning of something great.”
John Ashcraft
of Ashcraft Realty worked as the selling broker on the project.
“It
was challenging,” he said, “as are any new ventures.”
He agreed
with Wotier as to what the new addition would do for the county.
“It’s
going to be good for all Owen County businesses,” Ashcraft
said.
Shad Sletto
works with Project Development for EGC Construction, which will
do the building on the project. He said deciding on two entrances
to the site and getting the gas line in were issues leading up
to the final decisions, but now, speed and time are of the essence.
“We
want to make sure it’s done properly and have a good impact
on the community,” Sletto said.
“We’re
excited about this project.”
While the
permit process and weather will both affect timing, Sletto said
right now is a good time to build.
“It’s
high-profile, and will be (done) relatively quick,” he said.
Harper
Oil Products owns the Texaco station and convenient store that
will share the building with the McDonald’s.
Ann Lightfoot,
Account Representative for Harper Oil, said she is extremely excited
about this project.
“It’s always exciting to grow,” she said. “It’s
something great for Owen County.”
Lightfoot
said the company always feels good about giving communities a
great place to get gasoline.
Stephen Harper, president of Harper Oil said the company designed
a location they think the community will be proud of.
“We
want to operate A-plus locations,” he said. “We want
them to be bright and clean.”
For customers,
that means making their experience as pleasant as possible, Harper
said; and for employees, it’s a great company to work for,
he added.
Part of
that pleasant customer experience, Harper said, is keeping the
store stocked and if it doesn’t have what you want, they’ll
get it.
While construction
is going on, Harper said the company will be looking to secure
a manager for the store. With that job, he said, will come education
benefits. Someone who may be looking to continue their education
later can take advantage of the benefit, but it is also available
for those who don’t want to continue school. For those people,
the education benefit can be used by their children or grandchildren.
McDonald’s has also made a commitment to the community in
the way of education. They will be offering scholarships as well
as educational programs at Owen County schools.
Wotier
said many people throughout the community are excited about this
project.
Magistrates
Teresa Davis, Ray Smith and Jerry Jones all attended the ground-breaking
to show their support.
“I
think it’s great,” Davis said. “We need it.”
“It’s
a wonderful thing for the county,” Smith said.
Jones agreed.
“Owen County’s been at a standstill for the past few
years, (but) a lot is happening.”
There’s talk of the store being open 24 hours. That includes
the McDonald’s. Currently the only place in Owen County
open all night is the hospital.
The decision
to stay open will be made within the next week or so, Wotier said.
The McDonald’s corporate office in Columbus, Ohio, will
decide.
After Bernstein,
Wotier and Sletto finished speaking to the crowd, they invited
everyone to grab a shovel and take part in the ground-breaking.
“McDonald’s
and Harper are going to be a part of you now,” Bernstein
said. “I think you’ll be very pleased with what we’re
doing here.”
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