Half-million-gallon water tank at NEAR Megasite will send strong message

Shane Ellison, Etowah County’s chief administrative officer, recalled a conversation with officials at the state Department of Commerce to the crowd gathered Tuesday at the county’s Northeast Alabama Regional Megasite. 

“Once of the pieces of advice we received was that we needed to construct a large sign,” he said. “I think what we’re about to do beats any sign you could put up.” 

Ellison was referring to the reason elected officials, company and economic development representatives, community members and the media, braving intermittent rain, were at the megasite: the ceremonial groundbreaking for a 500-gallon water tank that by next year will tower over the property. 

The $3 million project is funded by Norfolk Southern Railroad through the Growing Alabama program, which allows companies to receive state tax credits for qualifying investments. 

It will move the 1,100-acre megasite closer to site-ready status, by setting the table for Rainbow City to provide water and sewer service to the property, which it agreed to do through a memorandum of understanding with the county in 2022. 

It also will send a strong signal to economic development entities and industry recruiters: Look at Etowah County. 

David Hooks, director of the Gadsden-Etowah Industrial Development Authority, said those folks often face a “chicken or the egg” scenario, as to whether water and sewer service needs to be in place initially or added after an industry is planned. 

“I think when they see this half-million-gallon tank (standing) in the sky — and they know the water qnd sewer are coming, there’s no doubt about it — it sends an indicator that the county and the city and Norfolk Southern and the state have made a commitment to this project.” 

That’s unmistakable in Norfolk Southern’s case, given the company’s $8.7 million investment to date in the NEAR megasite. It provided $2.7 million in 2020 for grading to make 70 acres of the property both pad and rail access ready, to relocate some gas lines and construct a new railroad crossing on the access road. It provided $3 million more the following year to extend the pad size by 100 acres, remove trees from the pad area and Interstate 59, and build a connecting road between Canoe Creek Road North. 

Daniel Parker, senior industrial development director for the railroad, called it a “proud partner and investor” in the megasite, and noted, “When it comes to progress, you can look out there right now and see what’s been going on the past six years.” 

He said development-friendly programs like Growing Alabama have made the state a popular place for industrial recruiters, and that with so many sites taken, new ones are needed, which benefits Etowah County. He praised the county’s vision for the site, which spotlighted the area and the workforce — and dates back more than a decade. 

“Some people when they came up said, ‘Wow, this is really going on out here, I didn’t know this was going on and it really looks good,’ ” County Commission President Craig Inzer Jr. said. “But there’s been a lot of work going on since 2010.” 

Inzer said the difference is some “new blood with new ideas,” like himself, coming onto the commission in recent years and teaming with veteran member Joey Statum, a longtime and ardent backer of the megasite, to “change the narrative.” 

The key there, he said — and a constant theme from Tuesday’s speakers — was cooperation, typified by the county and Rainbow City both aligning with the IDA as far as development efforts. That allows the county’s municipalities to approach state officials working together, with a united front. 

“We want to say, ‘We’re here, we’re together, we have this beautiful property and we want to work together to bring someone here,' ” Inzer said. 

Rainbow City Mayor Joe Taylor said such cooperation helps stress the notion that the NEAR megasite, as reflected by its rebranded name, “is not an Etowah County Commission project or a Rainbow City project, it’s a regional project.” 

He cited the $2.5 billion aluminum mill being constructed by Novalis at a megasite in Baldwin County — the magnitude of its impact on the area. 

“We use the sports term ‘game changer,’ ” Taylor said. “This is a ‘life changer,’ and I promise you there’s a time coming, when we make that final connection of water and sewer and this becomes an absolute tenant-ready site. When that happens, we will have changed the face of this area.” 

The megasite already has natural gas service, and Alabama Power is constructing a new onsite substation after rerouting existing lines that ran through the middle of the property. 

Terry Smiley, vice president of the company’s Eastern Division, said it reflects Alabama Power’s commitment to economic development and community investments and partnerships. 

“The I-59 corridor (the megasite includes 2 miles of frontage on the adjacent Interstate 59) is prime for positive growth,” he said. “And the reason it’s going to grow is that we have these leaders who have come together.” 

Phoenix Fabricators & Erectors will build the tank. It will be located near the site's rail line and carry the NEAR logo.