Energy State Column: Jeff Gregory
November 3, 2023
When I had the honor of being elected as mayor of Elizabethtown in 2018, I understood the importance of collaborating with our City Council, municipal workforce and community partners to harness the city’s burgeoning growth potential.
However, our initial expectations for community expansion were wildly exceeded when the BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale was announced in 2021, promising the arrival of 5,000 new job opportunities to our region.
This anticipated growth has been comprehensively outlined in a report commissioned by the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce and conducted by the Louisville-based consulting firm L.B. Schmidt & Associates.
According to the report, we can anticipate a population surge of 22,380 individuals in the Elizabethtown area.
With this surge in population comes a great need for additional housing. According to the report, the arrival of BlueOval SK will necessitate the construction of 8,811 new housing units in the region.
Currently, approximately 4,000 dwellings (multi-family and single-family housing units) are either in the planning stages or under construction in Elizabethtown. The city has witnessed a record of nearly $600 million invested in construction projects over the past year, a testament to the vibrancy of our growing community.
The bottom line is that our city is going to see a lot of growth and it’s going to happen quickly.
We can build upon a track record of success and explore new opportunities such as the recommendations outlined in the report. To sustain this momentum, we must maintain our spirit of collaboration and community pride.
We’ve also been identifying and purchasing vacant properties for future development, laying the foundation for a prosperous and vibrant Elizabethtown.
The former Elizabethtown Sportswear property on College Street is a great example. It soon will go from a 20-year vacant, blighted property, to a market-rate, multi-family housing complex.
The city also recently secured a land trade deal and a projected $50 million development project, offering the potential to continue downtown development. This project will include an estimated 200 living units above storefronts on the street level and will occupy the former Herb Jones Chevrolet property on East Dixie Avenue, right across from the Hardin County Justice Center.
The 5.7-acre development in that area can greatly accelerate an already robust revitalization of the downtown area.
To adapt to the evolving landscape and heed the recommendations outlined in the economic impact study and our 2020 city comprehensive plan, our planning department is researching lifting height restrictions on buildings to allow for more density in certain areas.
As we embark on this journey, it’s important to remember that funding for public safety is paramount and continuous. We also must continue to invest in our beautiful parks system and further explore amenities and quality of life enhancements to help retain the many individuals relocating to our city, as well as continue to provide the quality of service.
I encourage everyone in the community to explore the entire economic impact study at hardinchamber.com/energystate. It is a valuable resource that provides further insights into the extraordinary growth that awaits us.
