'Project Rocks' property deal closes in Phipps Bend Industrial Park

The Hawkins County Industrial Development Board has closed on the Project Rocks property deal, chairman Patrick Lund said at a meeting Thursday afternoon. The $900 million manufacturing project will be located at the county's Phipps Bend Industrial Park. Lund said the project's leaders met earlier this month, and future plans sound positive. Michael Parker, the director of economic development at NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership, noted an additional 40 acres outside of Project Rocks that will be proposed to another industry. He said it will be a large investment, totaling a couple $100 million. Lund provided updates on three other projects. Project Slide, located outside the Phipps Bend area, is an existing industry that is expanding from around 12 employees to nearly 50. Lund said to expect a formal announcement about the project within a month. The recently named Project Necklace also concerns an industry already in Phipps Bend with plans to grow its workforce, as well as its facility space. Project Elixir, which has been in progress for over a year, will be extended another six months as the company gathers its finances. "If all of these projects we've got going on come to fruition, we will be just about full at the park," Lund said, including additional projects. "We've [still] got some small acres here and there." Other updates Charles Johnson, the Tennessee College of Applied Technology's Hawkins County campus coordinator, said that 20 students graduated the school's summer term — all of whom have been placed in the workforce. "Certifications are good, but we want to place people, get people to work," Johnson said. Johnson also said that the college's dual enrollment program will include 10th graders for the first time this fall.