$3.4 million infrastructure project completed

Several members of the community including elected officials from city and county government gathered on Wednesday, July 12 to cut the ribbon at the new Riverfork Industrial Park on Progress Drive in Huntington. Shown in the photo above cutting the ribbon are Mark Wickersham, left, executive director, Huntington County Economic Development Corporation; Mayor Richard Strick, center, and Charles Chapman, City Council, 1st District.

Submitted by HCEDC

Officials from the City of Huntington and economic development community celebrated the completion of a $3.4 million infrastructure project to serve the new Riverfork Industrial Park on Progress Drive in Huntington. The project represents the first of a multi-phase effort to fully serve the park and surrounding neighborhood.

“Economic Development is a team sport,” said Mark Wickersham, executive director of the Huntington County Economic Development Corporation (HCEDC). “Local officials have dreamed about an industrial park at this location for over forty years. Completion of the primary infrastructure allows the park to come alive,” he added. “Ground was broken 14 months ago. It’s remarkable to have completed the infrastructure so quickly, ahead of schedule and on budget,” he said.

Construction for Lot #1, a thirty acre site, is nearing completion as well. “These are once-in-a generation opportunities and the City team is using it to make infrastructure improvements that benefit existing residents and businesses in addition to new industries,” said Huntington Mayor Richard Strick. “It’s been a tremendous experience working with our public and private sector partners to translate this into a reality,” Strick added.

HCEDC is a non-profit organization as recognized by the IRS under Code Section 501(c)3 and the owner of the industrial park. Local lending institutions Bippus State Bank, First Farmers Bank & Trust and First Federal Savings Bank, are the mortgage holders with the City of Huntington contractually backing the HCEDC in the process.

“Former Mayor Brooks Fetters, former Bippus Bank CEO Ryan Warner, and at the time, HCEDC president Kyle Hamilton, designed a process for development which demands collaboration,” Wickersham said. “No one individual has unilateral authority to make decisions about the future use of the industrial park. We have to work together and do and today, we’ve shown what can be done in 14 months when the team is all working together to get the job done,” Wickersham concluded.