City announces plans to purchase large tract of land for new city-county industrial park

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, June 2, 2026 — Following an executive session regarding the sale or purchase of real estate, Bardstown Mayor Dick Heaton announced that the City of Bardstown and Nelson Fiscal Court have agreed to purchase a large tract of property for developing the county’s newest industrial park.

The City and County will contribute $3 million each toward the purchase of the property. The City and County governments will also receive a $5 million loan from Salt River Electric to help fund the purchase.

While Heaton did not specify the location of the property, its well known that the city and county were looking at a large tract of land at the end of Pennebaker Avenue for the site of a new industrial park.

“This is the culmination of six to seven years of effort by the BIDC to locate land (for a new industrial park,” Heaton explained.

The property is raw, undeveloped land, Heaton stressed. “We have a long way to go before we’ll be selling any land,” he said. The property will need to have basic infrastructure built — roadways as well as utilities like electric, water, sewer and natural gas, which could cost upwards of $25 million to complete prior to the sale of property to an industrial concern.

Heaton noted that the industries located in the Wilson Industrial Park and Nelson County Industrial Park are diversified in nature, and that same diversification is the goal for the new industrial park.

The council approved a motion for the city to spend $3 million toward the purchase of the property. Nelson Fiscal Court is expected to approve a similar motion at its next meeting as well.

The council also approved a resolution regarding seeking a $5 million loan from Salt River for the purchase of the property. Nelson Fiscal Court will also need to approve a resolution seeking to seek a loan from the electric utility.

NEXT UP. Nelson Fiscal Court will meet next at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 2, 2026 and approve allocating $3 million toward the property purchase, and a resolution regarding a loan from Salt River Electric for the purchase.

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