The Development Authority of Polk County has been awarded a $400,000 grant to purchase the speculative building located in the Cedartown North Business Park.

The speculative building will be leased to J.C.M. Industries, the parent company of Advance Storage. which is a manufacturer of material handling systems. It has a plant located in Rockmart that is currently staffed with 36 employees and is considered an important component of the area economy.

The company produces metal storage racks for warehouse and distribution centers, including Wal-Mart. The company commits to retain the 36 existing jobs and create an additional 59 employees by 2005 with an annual payroll of $2.85 million.

Total project cost is $1.6 million. The grant was part of the almost $7.5 million in grant and loan awards announced last week by Governor Roy Barnes.

It was one of the awards from the OneGeorgia Authority to 16 of the state’s most economically distressed communities to help create jobs and implement economic development projects.

Governor Barnes, who chairs the Authority, pointed to the diversity of the projects awarded as a continued trademark of the flexibility of the Equity Program.

“I am proud that this program is responding to the diverse economic development needs of rural Georgia,” he said. “We’re making grants for existing business expansion and high-tech incubators, traditional infrastructure and speculative facilities.”

“Through OneGeorgia, we can both nurture existing business and cultivate start-up companies with high growth potential,” Barnes said.

Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, vice-chairman of the Authority, said that the investments made through these projects would return large dividends in the future.

“I look forward to seeing the results of their hard work down the road,” he said.

The Equity awards, round one of FY 2003 funding, are designed to assist communities and regions as they build the necessary infrastructure for economic development. Project awards are given through three competitive rounds annually and are capped at $500,000. Tier 1 and 2 communities, and in some cases Tier 3 communities, are eligible for Authority Assistance.

The next Equity application deadline is January 28, 2003. Equity award recipients include 11 grants totaling $5,452,070 and five loans totaling $1,000,750.