The South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council hosted a tour of Commerce Park II and Ascend Elements to highlight construction progress and future development plans for the industrial park on Friday.
Ascend Elements broke ground at Commerce Park II in October 2022 and since then they have been constructing their Apex 1 Facility which will be their largest electric vehicle battery recycling facility. At the facility, Council Executive Director, Carter Hendricks shared that materials from used lithium-ion batteries will be extracted and reprocessed in order to be used in electric vehicle batteries.
Before touring the Ascend Elements construction site, attendees were shown around the industrial lots at Commerce Park II. Hendricks says the industrial park has over 1,000 acres of land that is either under development with Ascend Elements or open to industries that want to plant roots in the area.
Six of the park’s industrial lots are currently empty and open for development. Lots that are not yet occupied are owned by the Hopkinsville Industrial Foundation.
Turning toward Ascend Elements, construction of the facility is underway and Construction Manager, Cory Radcliffe says the facility is set to be completed and operational by April 2025. Starting next month operation employees will undergo training.
Once completed and operational, Hendricks says Ascend Elements will provide around 450 permanent full-time positions that pay well and can create opportunities for those in the region.
For the empty industrial lots at Commerce Park II, Hendricks says they are focused on finding automotive, agriculture, aerospace and defense, distribution and advanced manufacturing related industries to development regional facilities.
As Commerce Park II further develops, Hendricks says the park will be connected to KY 115 and the CSX railroad will connect directly to Pembroke Road with a bridge.
Hendricks says the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Hopkinsville Public Works Department are handling the connection. Hendricks says work on the Pembroke Road connector may start by summer and work on the KY 115 connector may start by summer in 2025.
