Daviston named vice-chair of Coweta's Development Authority
By REBECCA LEFTWICHrebecca@newnan.com
Newnan businessman Terry Daviston has been named vice chairman of the Coweta County Development Authority and the Development Authority of Coweta County.
“Terry as been on the development authority for several years, and he has always been committed to helping Coweta County,” said Coweta County Development Authority President Greg Wright. “We welcome him into this leadership position to help guide the county into the future.” Daviston operates McKoon Funeral Home in Newnan.
Among action Thursday, the development board approved an easement request from Atlanta Gas Light to run gas lines to the new Cancer Treatment Centers of America building off Newnan Crossing Bypass and accepted a bond resolution for the expansion of Trinity Christian School off Highway 34 East, as well as heard from Wright about existing and potential business activity.
Wright said six new projects were put forward in April, a month of strong activity for local business and industry.
Two established companies are considering expansion, and less developed census tract designation means qualifying companies in Shenandoah and Creekside industrial parks and industrial areas of Hillwood Circle continue to be eligible for enhanced job tax credit benefits for new job creation.
“Overall, I think things are improving,” Wright said. “We are seeing more projects, but more importantly, we’re seeing companies making decisions. Two years ago, companies were looking at sites and buildings, and now we are seeing them make decisions about building and expanding.”
Wright’s networking also has paid off. He recently attended a consultants forum focusing on burgeoning automotive industry activity in the Southeast, and it already has generated a project.
“It’s all about building that relationship, about making them aware of what’s available in Coweta County,” Wright said. “Making regular contact with project managers, consultants and brokers that work with industrial projects may not pay off today, but it will when they have a project or client looking for a location where Coweta would be a good fit. That’s what economic development is.”
Working directly with established companies is important too, Wright said.
“We are proactively going out to companies and sitting down with them,” he said. “We want to understand what they’re doing, what their challenges are, so we can provide resources to improve operations or solve specific problems. Our job is to help grow businesses and expand jobs in Coweta County.”
