Kentucky Transpark

The Kentucky Transpark is a planned 1,200-acre high-tech commerce and business park located on U.S. 31-W and Highway 68/80 on the north side of Bowling Green (Warren County), Kentucky. In Phase 1, approximately 900 acres have been acquired and developed.

The Transpark can accommodate heavy and light industrial manufacturing operations and also offers planned unit development sites for commercial and retail establishments.

Under the leadership of Warren County Judge Executive Michael O. Buchanon, the Transpark has now become a regional cooperative effort involving a total of 8 partner counties and 3 partner cities as financial contributors. The official groundbreaking for the Transpark was held in August 2003.

The Transpark has already been successful in its recruitment efforts with the December 2003 and January 2004 announcements that Bowling Green Metalforming, a subsidiary of Cosma International Group of Magna International, Inc., constructing a 900,000 square foot facility bringing 1,100 new jobs and a capital investment of over $200 million to Bowling Green.

In 2005, the Transpark received both state and national award recognition for excellence in regional economic development efforts and commitment to environmental protection. In April, the Transpark received the LG&E Energy Corporation Community Award for Innovation and in July, the County Courthouse Award sponsored by the National Association of Counties.

The original concept for the Transpark was developed in August 1998 when a site evaluation and market strategy report was first conducted. Shortly thereafter, the Transpark received $6 million in state legislative funding in January 1999. An incremental bond issue totaling $25 million was issued by Warren County Fiscal Court in 2003, 2004 and 2005 to purchase land and complete infrastructure. Additional state grants were received in December 2004 in the amount of $650,000 for the construction of the internal roads of the Transpark, a second state grant in the amount of $550,000 was received in June 2005, also for the construction of the internal roads of the Transpark. A state grant in the amount of $2.5 million is also currently pending and contingent upon the location of future economic development clients in the heavy industrial portion of the Transpark.

In cooperation with Bowling Green Technical College and Kentucky Community & Technical College System and Western Kentucky University, the Transpark features onsite educational and research centers. These facilities will provide customized workforce training and specialized services to meet the needs of, not only Transpark tenants, but newly created, existing or expanding regional businesses as well. Officially announced in February 2005, a 31,000 square foot training facility by Bowling Green Technical College is currently under construction and scheduled for completion for classes to begin in spring 2006. Specialized apprenticeship programs in Tool & Dye and Mechatronics will be offered. Adjacent to that, officially announced in December 2005, a 44,420 square foot regional high school technical center is under construction with a scheduled completion for classes to begin with the 2006-2007 school year.

The need to protect the environment continues to be a major focus of the Transpark development. Extensive design reviews and design characteristics that exceed the state and federal environmental standards have and are continuing to be conducted. State-of-the-art stormwater treatment systems have been incorporated into the Transpark’s drainage plan. Multiple units have been installed to efficiently remove harmful pollutants, such as sediment, trash, and oil from stormwater runoff before discharging to lined retention basins for aesthetics as well as irrigation. The Transpark is also designed as a “No Idle” development and will ask its occupants to use one of the technologies recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency for reducing long-duration truck idling.

With a campus-like setting, the Transpark has both bike and walking trails along with green space and water features throughout. The Restrictive Covenants and Binding Elements of the Transpark have designed landscaping, lighting, signage and other features that exceed current requirements of Warren County Subdivision Regulations, the Warren County Comprehensive Plan and the Greenbelt Master Plan.

The management agreement between the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce and the Inter-Modal Transportation Authority, Inc. (ITA) is an example of regional cooperation at its very best. The management agreement supports an alliance of 8 partner counties and 3 partner cities for which the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce serves as the lead agency in economic development recruitment efforts for the Transpark and the region. The ITA partner counties (financial contributors*) are:

• Warren County
• Allen County
• Barren County
• Butler County
• Edmonson County
• Logan County
• Metcalfe County
• Monroe County
• City of Bowling Green
• City of Scottsville
• City of Glasgow