The members of the Development Authority of Jones County voted unanimously last week to add a new dimension to their approach in marketing Griswoldville Park.

The 983-acre industrial park was purchased by the county in 2007 and has been marketed in-house with the help of state agencies until last week. Authority members listened to a presentation July 12 by commercial real estate broker Chitra Subbarayan with Ackerman and Company in Atlanta and voted unanimously to contract with her.

Subbarayan is focused on economic development and said her company works with public-private partnerships when it comes to the funding of projects. The broker said, after spending time at the industrial park, she researched Sam Griswold and found out he was an innovator who came to Jones County because of the availability of rail, and she said it is her hope that others in the present day will follow his example.

Subbarayan suggested the park could be divided into parcels from 100 to 300 acres, and she wants the county to be ready to do business.

“We have the land but there is nothing beyond the entrance road and the beautiful sign,” she said. “This economy is a window of opportunity. The funds are out there, and we need to go after them for our infrastructure,” Subbarayan said.

She added that Jones County is ahead of many others because it already has the land. She said not investing in infrastructure for the industrial park makes as much sense as owning an automobile without wheels.

“We need to find people vested in the community to partner. The goal is to get people in neighboring counties to come here and work,” she said.

Subbarayan told the authority members that they need to be the ones to lead the community.

The broker brought consultant Charles McSwain to the meeting. He talked about the need for a vision for the industrial park and the importance of being shovel ready.

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