Details surrounding last month’s sale of the old Colgate plant in Clarksville are sparse, but the property is slated for redevelopment, and the project could be funded largely by foreign investors.
The plant’s buyers remain publicly unidentified since the sale is not yet final, but they have asked the Midwest Center for Foreign Investment to raise $150 million in foreign investments toward a new development that involves the plant.
“I know that they’re going to do a lot of redevelopment and a lot of job creation on that property,” says center Chief Operating Officer Katherine Johnson, who could not reveal the buyers’ identity.
It’s possible that money would also go toward the larger Clark’s Landing project, which would cover much of Clarksville’s riverfront, including the plant. City redevelopment director Rick Dickman says he’s working with the plant’s would-be owners, and he suspects they will eventually hire a master developer for the entire Clark’s Landing project.
“That would be the best idea for any kind of a project of this scale. You would look for some sort of a developer, master developer,” he says. “And I think the very first step might very well be to do some sort of a master plan.”
Dickman would not disclose who purchased the plant, but he says he hasn’t heard any discussion of a casino being part of Clark’s Landing.