The Columbia Adair County Economic Development Authority had a Bid Opening on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 for bids on the Speculative (shell only) Building to be constructed on the Build Ready Pad on Lot #3 in Green River Commerce Park.
There were 14 bids submitted with 13 representatives of the bidders in attendance. Bidders were asked to submit a base bid and a deduct for Alternative # 1. Base bids ranged from $1,998,991.00 to $3,412,000.00. Bids including the deduct for Alternative #1 ranged from $1,760,869.00 to $3,200,348.00. The bids with the deduct is for construction of the 38,500 SF one story Pre-Engineered steel-sided shell building without the additional office portion. The preliminary budget cost opinion was $1,979,000.00 when we applied for the KPDI grant with a $1,684,000.00 construction budget. Since we started the project, steel prices have drastically increased due to tariffs and increase in fuel costs and resulted in a higher construction cost. Our engineers suggested obtaining bids with an alternative to deduct the office portion in case the bids came in over budget and we were not able to secure additional funding for the construction.
On Friday, October 9, 2026, the EDA Board met and reviewed the bid tabulations and recommendation of our engineers and accepted the lowest bid with the deduct for Alternative #1 in the amount of $1,760,869.00 from Branscum Construction Company of Russell Springs, Kentucky. Once plans are approved by the Kentucky Department of Housing & Construction and performance bond is obtained, a notice to proceed will be provided to the contractor giving them 300 days to complete.
The $1,979,000 project is made possible by a $1,720,869.57 Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) grant (85%) and local match of $258,130.43 (15%) from Rural Development Agency Assistance Program (RDAAP) funding provided by the Adair County Fiscal Court.
The EDA Board is elated that we are able to proceed with the construction of a speculative building, a goal that we have been working on for some time. This gives us another tool in our toolbox to allow us to compete for industries looking to locate or expand their operations in Kentucky and create new jobs in Adair County. On behalf of our entire board, we want to thank our engineers MSE of Kentucky, Inc, our consultant Heather Spoon, the Cabinet for Economic Development, the KPDI Board, our state legislators, the Adair County Fiscal Court & Adair County Judge’s office, Branscum Construction Company and everyone who helped in getting us where we are.
