BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Baldwin Electric Membership Corporation’s 56-acre Bay Minette lot on Alabama Highway 59 received an Alabama AdvantageSite designation on Thursday.

The site is located next to the corporation’s north baldwin location and has undergone preliminary preparations for industrial use, according to Baldwin EMC Senior Governmental and Community Affairs Administrator Donna Givens.

The designation is two-fold. It confirms that the site has undergone a wetlands assessment, endangered-species survey and geotechnical-exploration survey so it may now be marketed by the state as well as local agencies, Givens said in a telephone interview.

“All due diligence has been done,” she said. “You’ve done the prep(aration) work, studies and an engineering company has cleared it. It’s to check for anything that would prohibit this site from being built on.”

Basically, interested industries are assured not to experience holds on construction if purchasing the property.

The designation also means that the site’s information now appears on the state website so that potential buyers have access to details and prices, Givens said.

Economic Development Programs of Alabama Vice President and Director of Business Information confirmed the state’s marketing assistance.

“We are very excited to add the Baldwin County site to the list of designated AdavantageSites,” states a Baldwin EMC news release. “We know that Baldwin County is a fast-growing county and believe this designation will further help the Baldwin County team with its economic-development efforts.”

According to the release, “the AdvantageSite program requires that community economic-development organizations provide documentation specific to a proposed  industrial site including a set of standard data related to ownership or control, environmental and geotechnical conditions and infrastructure status. Sites must also meet size, zoning and accessibility requirements.”

Givens said she worked with Josh Thornton of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance to meet requirements for the project. The Alliance sent Givens the required forms and criteria, she said, explaining that she then contacted an engineering firm to perform the archaeological studies.

Givens completed paperwork from the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama and she and Thornton presented information to the Alabama Development Office. Engineers were present to answer questions.

Those individuals toured the site, she said. When the office members got back to Birmingham, they voted to approve the 56-acre Bay Minette lot for an AdvantageSite designation.

Givens explained that this is Baldwin EMC’s first approval of this kind. It is the second such designation in Baldwin County, with the first also being in Bay Minette in the city megasite located on Alabama Highway 59 between U.S. Interstate 65 and the proposed extention of the Foley Beach Express.

Baldwin EMC CEO Bucky Jakins said the designation will be worth the long process because it should aid the growth of Bay Minette and Baldwin County.

“In an effort to help bring jobs and recruit industry to Baldwin County and our region, we knew it was important to have our property  attain the AdvantageSite designation,” he said in the news release.

In that same release, Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery said she believes the site will benefit the city.

“This designation emphasizes the opportunities we have for positive change through partnerships with industry,” she said in release. “We are optimistic that industry locating on the site will allow us to together create a strong network that will build a prosperous future for manufacturing and our workforce.”