GEDCO sells land, approves grants in ongoing ‘Grow Gladewater’ effort

Gladewater Economic Development Corporation is ready to celebrate another ribbon cutting after selling some of its local acreage to a hometown developer.
The organization’s board of directors last week green-lit the $40,000 sale of 5.5 acres to Jeff Simpson and his Outdoor Management Services, LLC.
“They’re a herbicide treatment company,” GEDCO Director Anna Conlan confirmed this week. “They’re actually currently breaking ground. They will be hiring up to 20 employees in the next 24 months.”
A new facility and equipment yard is planned for the downtown-adjacent property, addressed on Ferry Street and adjoining about 100 acres already owned by Simpson.
Among other votes last week, GEDCO’s board approved several Grow Gladewater grants, including an estimated $4,500 for developer Brian Cox.
“He will be building an 80-unit, gated storage facility and tearing down the existing abandoned buildings on the property,” Conlan noted, a Hwy. 271 project.
GEDCO’s ‘property redevelopment’ grant for the project covers 50 percent of the cost of demolition up to $5,000.
“What that does is aid someone with the demolition of an existing structure, either with environmental issues or safety issues,” Conlan explained. “That reimbursement doesn’t happen until they build the new structure on the site.”