Community

Many of the World's Most Successful Companies Have Discovered that Owensboro, Kentucky is a Great Place to Build Their Business

Owensboro, the third largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is the industrial, medical, retail and cultural hub of western Kentucky. The community is located along the southern banks of the Ohio River in northwest Kentucky. A regional workforce of more than 275,000 employees provides companies a choice of skilled and available labor with a recognized work ethic. Owensboro offers nationally recognized workforce development initiatives and programs that address a complete range of employer needs, from manufacturing to technology-based.

Owensboro is a great place for high-tech entrepreneurs and start-up companies. Owensboro has created a life science partnership with Kentucky’s world-class research institutions and early stage funding resources. Kentucky is the only state to match both Phase I and Phase II federal SBIR-STTR awards to high-tech businesses.

Owensboro offers all the conveniences of a major metropolitan center along with the comfort, safety, and charm of a small community.

Enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle

• Named lowest cost small metro by Forbes
• Housing costs 87 percent cheaper than U.S. average
• Arts and amenities to rival large metros
• Moderate climate with four seasons
• Lowest crime rate in the southern United States

Extremely friendly to business

• Innovative tax incentives and business development programs
• Highly skilled workforce
• Access to world-class research universities
• Access to North American market from a safe, stable and cost-effective location, within 600 miles of nearly half the population, income and retail sales of the U.S.
• An economy.com survey ranked Owensboro second among communities in a 15 state region based on unit labor costs, tax burden and energy costs.

Location

Our excellent highway, rail, river, and air access allows commerce to flow quickly to all parts of the world.  A one-day drive to major markets such as Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville and St. Louis makes Greater Owensboro an excellent location for just-in-time deliveries.

Broadband

New Investment Focus Distibtuion and Logistics Plant-based natural products and bioprocessing Energy Metals Advanced Manufacturing

The availability of reliable broadband in Owensboro is second to none and there are a variety of service providers available to meet your broadband demands. 

Owensboro is unique to many communities in that it has a municipally owned and operated fiber optic, as well as wireless network. Connection speeds with T-1 fiber are up to 10 Mbps or you may choose point to point access with speeds up to 100 Mbps.  Cable and DSL service is also available with speeds up to 5.0 Mbps. 

Greater Owensboro is also a partner in the Connect GRADD project.  This ambitious and award-winning project will provide wireless high speed internet access to the seven county region surrounding and including Daviess County for a total coverage of over 2,600 square miles.  This project is slated to be completed in 2008.

OwensboroWorks.com

OwensboroWorks.com offers existing businesses, relocating companies, and small start-ups access to the region’s most valuable commodity—our people!  Owensboro Works is a unique tool to assist employers, job seekers, and economic development officials to build the workforce of the future.

OwensboroWorks.com is a web-based regional talent pool of more than 5,500 potential employees organized in an interactive, user-friendly database.  Owensboro Works is accessible and free of charge to businesses and job seekers.

“Five Star” Quality of Life

Greater Owensboro is well-known for a friendly, small town atmosphere offering entertainment and recreational options to rival many larger towns.  From the visual and performing arts to recreation to community celebrations and festivals, Owensboro has it!

Emerging Entrepreneurial Atmosphere

Emerging Ventures Center for Innovation provides technical support and start-up assistance to entrepreneurs, scientists, and small business people perfecting and maturing their ideas and business concepts.  The center is part of Kentucky’s Innovation and Commercialization framework, offers free management training and can help in developing business plans and obtaining private funding.

A World Center in the Plant Natural Product Industry

The Greater Owensboro Life Science Partnership is committed to establishing the Greater Owensboro Region as a world center of the plant natural product and plant made pharmaceutical industry.  Kentucky Bioprocessing, LLC (KBP) is a contract bioprocessor with state-of-the-art facilities, experienced personnel and intellectual property providing customers with an unequaled quality and range of bioprocessing services.  Customers are worked with on a confidential basis to extract purified proteins and other value added products from plants and other organic materials.   The Owensboro Cancer Research Program (OCRP) the Owensboro Medical Health System is establishing itself as a cutting edge facility for groundbreaking biopharmaceutical research through its partnership with the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville.   The facilities, which include four state-of-the-art 1,000 square foot labs, are designed to support five to six U of L researchers who will collaborate with and support researchers James Graham Brown Cancer Center.  Currently, there are three full-time research scientists working in the OCRP labs. 

Education and Training

The Greater Owensboro region boasts some of the finest schools in Kentucky.  The region is home to four colleges and universities with connections to various others in the state and throughout the labor market. 

• Owensboro Community and Technical College is a comprehensive community college with an enrollment of 5,000 offering two-year degree programs in general education and technical studies as well as customized business and industry training.  The new $15 million Advanced Technology Center specializes in advanced manufacturing and engineering technology with a state-of-the-art rapid proto-typing center.
• Kentucky Wesleyan College is a religiously affiliated liberal arts college enrolling 700 students. 
• Brescia University is a Catholic liberal arts university with an enrollment of 600.
• Western Kentucky University-Owensboro Regional Campus offers a host of undergraduate and graduate degree programs.  The planned Northwestern Regional Postsecondary Education Center will afford WKU-O with a campus for future growth in the region.

Incentives and Financing

Kentucky offers a large number of progressive incentives and seed capital funds to businesses.  The following list includes those state and local incentives that are generally most applicable to business and industries considering locating or starting a business in Greater Owensboro.  For more information go to http://edc.owensboro.com

• City of Owensboro Occupational Tax Abatement for Infrastructure Development
• Kentucky Economic Improvement Act (KEIA)
• Kentucky Industrial Development Act (KIDA)
• Kentucky Jobs Development Act (KJDA)
• Kentucky Rural Economic Development Act (KREDA)- Hancock and Ohio counties
• Industrial Revenue Bonds- local industrial development authority
• Commonwealth Seed Capital Fund
• Rural Innovation Fund
• Owensboro Office Central Region Innovation and Commercialization Center- High Technology Development Funds
• Phase I and Phase II federal SBIR-STTR awards to high-tech businesses.
• Greater Owensboro Venture Club (Angel Investors)

Sites and Buildings

Greater Owensboro offers businesses a wealth of options for site selection, featuring more than 4,000 acres of available industrial land in a three county area.  Existing available buildings vary from small commercial and industrial structures to large warehouse facilities.

• Mid-America Airpark is a 450 acre fully equipped and shovel-ready business park adjacent to the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport and the Wendell H. Ford Expressway. 
• Bluegrass Crossings Regional Business Centre at the intersection of the William H. Natcher Parkway and the Wendell H. Ford Parkway in Ohio County, just south of Owensboro.  The park offers over 900 acres with utilities, infrastructure, and possible rail access.
• Coleman Terminal, located on the east-side of Owensboro is a developable 92 acre site with river, rail, and major highway access. The terminal is owned by the Owensboro Riverport Authority. 
  
• Skillman and Lewisport Sites in Hancock County 30 minutes east of Owensboro offer excellent river, rail, and highway access.  The sites offer access to utilities and infrastructure. 
• Owensboro Re-development/Downtown “Hotspots” various redevelopment areas including a large segment of downtown Owensboro offer excellent office space and incentives for development.

TRANSPORTATION

Highway

Greater Owensboro is linked to the national transportation network through two limited access highways (Natcher and Audubon Parkways) which provide easy access to nearby I-64 to the north and in the south to I-65 and I-24.  New newly planned I-66 and I-69 corridors are 30 minutes to the west and south.  Additionally, US 231, US 431, and US 60 provide excellent highway access to the region. 

Rail

A primary north-south line for CSX runs through the Greater Owensboro region, providing ample combined river, rail, and highway access in the east in Hancock County and throughout the Owensboro and Daviess County.

Water

The Owensboro Riverport Authority is a full-port, intermodal facility serving local, national, and international industry.  Located at mile 759 on the Ohio River and 10 miles from the confluence of the Green River, the Owensboro Riverport is the largest riverport between Louisville and St. Louis and is a pivotal point for all river shipping in the Midwest.  The Riverport also serves as a licensed warehouse as a delivery point of prime aluminum traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s COMEX Division aluminum futures contract. Owensboro Riverport is the only warehouse in the world serving contracts from the New York Mercantile Exchange and the London Metal Exchange. In addition to its geographical benefit, the port is a customs port-of-entry for receiving and shipping of foreign goods and maintains Foreign Trade Zone status.

Air

Commercial air service is available at the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport with two daily flights to the Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport.  In the 2007 the airport will complete the construction of a runway expansion project extending the main runway to 8,000 feet, the second longest in Kentucky.  The Evansville Regional Airport, which offers commercial service to five additional major airports, is 45 minutes away.  The Louisville International Airport and Nashville International Airport are two hours away.  Additionally, two general aviation airfields and the planned Hancock County Airport serve the region for business and commuter flights.