SOUTH POINT - Churning dirt and busy contractors are two signs that The Point industrial park is heading toward a momentous fall as multiple ongoing construction projects near completion.

Two projects are well under way on the 504-acre property in South Point between the Ohio River and U.S. 52 - a road, sewer and water project that will open up more land for development and the construction of a 42,000 square-foot steel shell building that will add to the park's marketing tools.

Both projects are slated for September or October completion dates and have park leaders excited. An official open house, "ready-to-use" party will be hosted later this fall.

"I really am pleased to see it all coming together," said Dr. Bill Dingus, executive director of the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation.

The group owns the property that formerly was home to Allied Chemical and South Point Ethanol.

"Of course, it was my predecessor Pat Clonch's vision and I just had the privilege of bringing it to reality," Dingus said.

The park has become a hub of construction activity this spring and summer as dozens of construction workers labor away in the park, helping it take shape. From backhoes, to earth movers and other heavy equipment, the property is being transformed into a viable industrial park.

Of course, the ultimate goal of all the projects is to create good-paying

jobs with benefits, something that leaders feel confident will happen.

While driving through the park Tuesday, Dingus was quick to point out that Park Manager Bill Price has been a tremendous part of the park's success during the past year or so.

"Bill Price has been fantastic. He is a contractor's contractor," Dingus said. "Lawrence County is blessed to have him on this project."

South Point-based company Bill Enyart & Sons Contracting Inc. is well under way on the $2.36 million infrastructure project that is expected to be completed by the end of September or early October.

The company is installing an 8-inch water main, 10-inch sewer lines and building more than two miles of two-lane blacktopped, 24-foot wide roads that will allow for access to approximately 180 to 200 acres of the park. In addition, they are conducting ground preparation on a 30- to 40-acre area that will be immediately available for future development.

"When this project is finished, we will have nearly 200 acres of perfect industrial land," Dingus said. "All of it is flat. It all will have railroad access and a major industrial road."

The water phase is nearly 95 percent complete, the roads are approximately 75 percent finished as it awaits stone and blacktop and the sewer construction is nearly half way completed, Dingus said.

On the other side of the park, Portsmouth-based contractors Portco Inc. is wrapping up construction on the $1.3 million project to build a shell building. If Mother Nature cooperates, it will be completed by early September and occupied by the end of the year, Dingus said.

"We have some real serious interest in the building," Dingus said, though he declined to offer any specifics. "I would think that within 60 to 90 days of completion, there will be an agreement consummated."

Also by early September, Dingus hopes to have permanent signs placed along U.S. 52 that will point out The Point.

Currently, the park

has four tenants - Total Safety Inc., M&M Services Inc., Calgon Inc. and Mid-Valley Supply. Superior Marine Inc. and Marathon Ashland Petroleum have a presence within the park but do not operate out of physical buildings.

Still in the works, Ohio University Southern plans to build its Center for Leadership and Training. The project has gone out to bid twice, but returns have been more than the 10 percent allowed. It is expected to be rebid soon.