Wayne County issued the following announcement on Feb. 24.
The Wayne County Commissioners accepted the Agricultural Innovation Center (AIC) Feasibility Study, prepared by the consultants at ACDS, LLC, and authorized the next phase of the project.
ACDS officials find the development of this multi-use facility that will serve as the new headquarters for the County Food Pantry and multiple other interests to be feasible. The project grew directly out of the Wayne Tomorrow! collaboration
“It has support from both county leadership and the community, and there are foundations eager to fund projects that are transformational for the county,” notes the Executive Summary.
The study also states grant funds are available to fund land acquisition, infrastructure improvements, construction, and operations. Several properties provide suitable options for new development or redevelopment.
Below is an overview of noteworthy feasibility findings:
Still, there are risks that need to be mitigated for successful implementation, including management, regional labor conditions, supply chain issues that increase construction and equipment costs, macroeconomic trends that may limit facility usage, and food safety regulations.
“These are not insurmountable challenges but will require strong leadership and a qualified management team. Moreover, it is important to secure anchor tenants before delving further into the next steps for bringing the AIC to fruition.”
According to the study, the next steps for this project involve ironing out the details for property acquisition, environmental assessments, utility infrastructure expansion, and securing grant funding.
Then the project partners should work with anchor tenants and key stakeholders to finalize the engineering and design of the proposed Wayne County Agriculture Innovation Center.
Original source can be found here.
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