Local leaders hope to break the economic speed limited with the realization of KineticPark
By Honor McCain
HQ 43 | WINTER 2002
Energy enables movement, action, progress. There are two types of energy; the first is potential energy,which exists but is not being used. When someone harnesses that energy and brings it to fruition, it becomes kinetic energy, the energy of making things happen. In May of 2002, construction will begin on KineticPark, a 95-acre business and technology park where countless new and exciting things will happen.
According to Gerald McDonald, president of the Huntington Area Development Council(HADCO), KineticPark is one of two current projects that have the ability to transform the Huntington community (the other being Pullman Square). KineticPark is a $16 million development with the potential to create approximately 3,000 new jobs. Even at the most basic level, the transforming power this will have on our community is clear.
“New jobs will generate payroll dollars that can be spent in any number of ways to pay taxes, buy groceries, cars, homes,” McDonald stated. “We all benefit in one way or another any time jobs are created.”
The first part of the KineticPark project involves clearing and developing the land on which the complex sits. This “earth-moving” is being performed by Kanawha Stone Company, Inc., a construction company located in Nitro, West Virginia. Kanawha Stone performs several services, including infrastructure,site development, dynamic compaction, environmental construction, resource restoration, and blasting. According to George McClennen, Public Works Director for the City of Huntington, in order to prepare the 100-acre site, 70 acres of land had to be excavated.
When this phase of the project is complete, 40 acres of developable land will have been created. Of the remaining 60 acres, 30 will be left in their original state and 30 will be used for landscaping and related purposes.
The scope of this project is rather large; in all, 2.6 million cubic yards of unclassified material will need to be excavated and placed in on-site fills to complete the work. In the spring, they will begin building roads, sewers, water lines, and other infrastructure.
Although the size of the project alone may be viewed as a challenge, William Hilborn,vice president of Engineering at Kanawha Stone Company, claimed that the biggest challenge has been “performing this magnitude of construction while still protecting the environment.” Before they could begin construction, Kanawha Stone had to obtain a 404 permit from the Corps of Engineers, and this permit contained several environmental restrictions. The earth-moving project requires the relocation of 400 feet of Four Pole Creek, and one of the stipulations of the permit is the restoration of the creek to its natural state.
Everyone involved in the project is working in compliance with the environmental restrictions. In fact, Hilborn said that the soil and erosion control measures that have been implemented won second place at the West Virginia Soil Conservation Agency’s annual meeting and won first place at the meeting of the Guyan Soil Conservation District.
Hilborn also noted that credit for the success of the project should be given to Burgess and Nipple Engineering Firm as the site designer, and to Triad Engineering, which has been the on-site construction inspector for the project.
Ingeniously planned and strategically located at the entrance to the Huntington community, just off of Interstate 64, KineticPark will both represent and utilize the wealth of Huntington. The park is to be divided into two main sections: a business and technology area and a commercial area.
The business and technology area will be comprised of 25 acres with nearly 400,000 square feet of available building space. It is designed to accommodate laboratories, high-tech office buildings and other advanced facilities and is the only technology site of its kind in the Huntington/Charleston West Virginia market. To ensure that information will have no speed limit at KineticPark, the complex will have a state-of-the-art telecommunications networking system. This system will include fiber optic loops, sonet ring technology and ATM technology.
On the other side of KineticPark lies its commercial area, which provides 12 acres of available sites that are ideally suited for hotels, freestanding restaurants, service stations and small shopping plazas. The commercial area perfectly complements the business and technology area, as any business in this location would undoubtedly benefit from the patronage of the KineticPark business and technology community as well as travelers on Interstate 64.
KineticPark offers several advantages to companies that choose to make KineticPark their home. McDonald believes that the biggest asset of KineticPark is its location at the “front door” of the Huntington community. Since the complex is meant to be a place where companies will be able to “move at the speed of kinetic energy,” it makes sense that KineticPark will be situated on I-64 near Route 10, two major arteries through the region.
Energy also courses through our community, in its abundant and technical labor force, diverse business base, nationally recognized medical providers and Marshall University, all of which will feed into KineticPark and grow through it. The work force in Huntington is known for its dedication, enthusiasm and reliability, and has very low rates of employee turnover and absenteeism, all of which will be attractive to potential tenants of KineticPark.
Huntington also has a strong business base rooted in technology and medicine. It is home to companies such as Alcon Surgical, Inc., EZ- Net, Amazon.com, Strictly Business and Applied Card Systems. As McDonald points out, Amazon.com is the”anchor tenant”of KineticPark, with an option on five acres within the complex. The on-line retail giant, whose corporate headquarters is located in Seattle, WA, opened its East Coast Customer Service Center in Huntington in March 2000 creating hundreds of new jobs. Amazon.com serves millions of customers per year, offering everything from books, music and DVDs to toys, kitchen items and tools. The company runs five U.S. customer service centers and provides e-mail service to customers through the Indian company Daksh and the Irish company G.E.M. in Belfast, Northern Ireland. McDonald and the rest of those involved in the KineticPark project hope to attract other companies with Amazon.com’s passion for innovation and growth.
Another factor that will draw companies to KineticPark is its proximity to Marshall University. Over the years, Marshall has become nationally recognized for its technology programs, including information technology, medicine, biotechnology and MBA programs. The Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine is one of the nation’s most respected medical schools for rural and family medicine, and both the medical school and the Forensic Science program continue to make Marshall University a leader in medicine, technology and research.
Not only will Marshall’s tradition of excellence bring companies to KineticPark, but Marshall graduates in these growing fields will also be outstanding candidates for the jobs that KineticPark will ultimately provide.
Since high technology business frequently involves the rapid movement of people as well as ideas, air transportation is often a necessity. With airports nearby in Huntington and Charleston and plans underway for a new regional airport, the business and technology companiesl ocated in KineticPark will also benefit from the convenience of easily accessible air travel. Several financial incentives for companies to come to KineticPark also exist. Huntington has low property taxes and utility rates for businesses; local and state incentives are geared toward technology-based business; and venture capital is available.
While HADCO is spearheading the marketing of KineticPark, overall ownership of the project belongs to the Huntington Municipal Development Authority, and several people and organizations have been involved in making the complex a reality. Congressman Nick Joe Rahall has been very helpful in obtaining federal funds for the project; the Huntington, West Virginia/Ironton, Ohio Empowerment Zone has aided infunding; and the City of Huntington has played an integral part in the planning and development of KineticPark.
The campaign to promote KineticPark is widespread and, appropriately, energetic. Those involved in the project are extolling the benefits of KineticPark and the Huntington community through television, radio and other media, including the project’s web site, www.kineticpark.com. They are also doing a great deal of networking. “We’re attending trade shows all across the country,” McDonald said. “We’re focusing on the nation’s technological centers, such as northern Virginia, the Boston area and the Silicon Valley in California.”
When asked if there was one phrase that embodies the spirit of KineticPark, McDonald declares, “No speed limit.” He says, “We’re trying to break the speed limit as far as our economy is concerned. The goal of the project is to create new types of jobs and attract companies of the future to this area.”
Clearly, KineticPark has the potential to give companies and our community a foundation for an energetic future. If you are interested in learning more about KineticPark, please call the Huntington Area Development Council (HADCO) at (304) 525-1161 or visit the project’s web site at www.kineticpark.com.
