BusinessTN

Boom. Burst. Explode.

Dangerous words… unless you’re talking about the economy. “We’ve had annual job growth in the last two years, with 660 new jobs in manufacturing,” says Walter Wood, executive director of the Shelby-ville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce. “The county has seen $32 million in new industrial investment and the construction of an additional 520,000 square feet of industrial space. “Retail has added 1,670 new jobs with an investment of $88 million and 1.4 million square feet of new space. “We are a growing community.”

Covering 753 square miles, Bedford County is located about 50 miles southeast of Nashville and includes county seat Shelbyville, Wartrace, Bell Buckle and Normandy.

“Industry came first, people followed, and the retail has followed the people,” says Shelbyville City Manager Ed Craig. The first retailer to give Bedford County its stamp of approval was Wal-Mart, which opened a Supercenter in Shelby-ville two years ago. “Wal-Mart invested $6 million in their new store,” Wood says. “It’s 188,000 square feet.”

“The big boom here came when Wal-Mart came,” Craig says. “It triggered an interest in retail. The good thing is we haven’t seen it cause a loss of locally owned businesses. In fact, some have picked up as a result.”

Next came Lowe’s Home Im-provement and then Tractor Supply Company. “These new retailers have been a trigger to more that have followed,” Craig says. “Ruby Tuesday just opened, and another restaurant is looking for the right spot to build here.”

The hot spot—where all of these businesses have located—is in Shelbyville on U.S. 231, also called North Main Street. “A local developer is building a 15,000-square-foot office com-plex, and another parcel of land has been zoned and approved for a similar office center,” Craig says.

Craig says Kroger opened with Burger King, Subway and a car wash locating in its strip mall center. Others under construction include Walgreen’s and Dollar General.

“We are constantly looking for retail and restaurants to come that fit with our existing mix of business and industry,” Wood says. Craig credits the retail explosion to the location of new industry and the expansion of existing manufacturers.

Jostens, a graduation an-nouncement and diploma-producing facility, moved its operation from Minnesota to Shelbyville. Airplane manufacturer Jabiru USA Sport Aircraft built at the Airport Business Park, the county’s newest privately developed business park. Auto supplier Summit Polymers, an injection molding company, also built in the Air-port Business Park.

The Sanford Corp. expanded its operation in Shelbyville. Sanford manufactures pens and markers.

“All of the regular Sharpies distributed throughout the United States are manufactured in Shelbyville,” Wood says. “For the Sharpie’s birthday, we renamed the town for a day. Instead of Shelbyville, we were ‘Sharpie-ville.’ We had a parade and a big celebration.”

To house all of the new emp-loyees, several residential building permits have been issued with new subdivisions dotting the county. “We’ve seen a steady growth in housing, especially in the northern part of the county,” says County Mayor Jimmy Woodson. “All kinds of levels are being built, from starter homes to homes in the $600,000 to $800,000 range.

“Our real estate prices are going up, but they are still much cheaper than surrounding areas. You can get more house for less money in Bedford County, and our property taxes are much cheaper.” “In 2005, we approved preliminary plans for 788 subdivision lots,” Craig says. “We did about the same in 2004. We’re adding many lots to the area.”

Craig says one new subdivision, Union Station, will include 750 lots in mixed density.

“It will have nice single family homes, cluster homes in a Key West style, and apartments,” Craig says. “It’s a development that you would expect to find in Franklin.”

In a growing community, the job of the Chamber of Comm-erce grows as well.

“The miss-ion of the Chamber is to retain the jobs we have and help existing companies expand wherever possible; promote retail, both expansions and new locations; and to develop the tourist industry,” Wood says.

Much of the area’s tourism is related to the annual Walking Horse Celebration, an 11-day event that includes barn decorating contests, a dog show, a trade fair and the famous equine competition. The event began in 1939, with ticket sales reaching 40,000. Today the Walking Horse Celebration is held on the 105-acre Celebration Grounds complex in Shelbyville. This year will mark the 68th annual event, with estimated ticket sales at 250,000.

In addition to the Walking Horse Celebration, 40 other events are held at the Celebration Calsonic Arena, including horse shows, monster truck events, dog shows, circuses, car shows, concerts and rodeos.

The Webb School hosts an annual craft fair that boasts hundreds of booths, and the RC Cola Moon Pie festival is a popular event in Bell Buckle. Shelby-ville’s downtown area is a tourist draw, as well. “We have an historic square with many businesses, especially specialty stores, located there,” Wood says.

Bedford County earned Three Star Community status for the 11th year.

“We were the first community certified under the Three Star pro-gram,” Wood says. “That means each of our cities has achieved the status.”

Achieving Three Star status means a community is prepared for economic growth and development.

One of the requirements for Three Star status is a program sponsored by the Chamber, Leadership Bedford. The nine-month-long project is designed to get the community involved in planning and to tap future leaders. Each year, participants in Leadership Bedford complete a project to give to the community. Past projects include funding for a Greenway Overlook at Shelbyville’s River Walk, creation of a community amphitheatre, and the creation of the youth leadership program, called Bedford Beginnings.