Autauga industrial park hopes to draw retail, services to growing area
PINE LEVEL — It's the fastest growing area in Autauga County, and a new proposal would give folks there more shopping and service options closer to home.
The Central Alabama Electric Cooperative is marketing 12 acres as part of its Interstate Business Park, just north of the U.S. Highway and Interstate 65 interchange. Pine Level is an unincorporated, for now, community about seven miles north of Prattville. Growth is surging here.
The rooftops are coming, so services and jobs need to follow, Autauga County Commission Chairman Jay Thompson said. The parcel, which has 15 lots, will be a mixed-use development including retail, service and professional outlets.
"I see people heading to Montgomery every morning," Thompson said, indicating Highway 31, which fronts the industrial park. "They are going to work in Montgomery, 30 miles away. I'm happy to see some of them have an opportunity to be able to stay in Autauga County and work."
Ground was broken at the site Tuesday.
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The lots are anywhere from about a half-acre to just over an acre each in size. Just perfect for a bank to open a branch. Or an eye doctor's office. But what about a fast food joint, or a sit-down restaurant? Sure, backers say, but space for those types of businesses will more likely be coming in the future.
It won't just be Pine Level seeing the benefit of the new businesses, but it will be a boon to folks living in Marbury, northeast Autauga County and even Prattville, said Rep. Van Smith, R-Prattville.
"This is the type of infrastructure that will benefit the entire community for years to come: industrial development, retail, broadband," he said.
Plans for the industrial park go back about 20 years. The 12 acres were once the site of the CAEC headquarters. The board wanted to make an offer on about 10 adjacent acres owned by Jesse Samuel Hunt to start an industrial park. But there was a slight hiccup, CAEC president and CEO Tom Stackhouse recalled Tuesday. Hunt was interested in selling, but he had 200 acres.
The CAEC board of directors at the time took a leap of faith and moved on the deal, Stackhouse said.
"It's taken a while, and it's taken vision," he said. "But you used to look out here and see watermelon and cantaloupe growing. Now you see jobs and services growing."
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Autauga industrial park hopes to draw retail, services to growing area
