Hutchinson pins growth on new industrial park

Leaders and economic developers in the city of Hutchinson are holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday for the city's new industrial park.

Federal and state grants helped pay for the nearly $2.5 million project; a state grant for public infrastructure provided $250,000, and a federal grant through the Federal Economic Development Agency supplied $950,000.

The construction project picked up speed in the last two years, said Steve Cook, the mayor of Hutchinson.

"The result is now we have about 70 acres of land that's shovel-ready with infrastructure in place," Cook said.

Cook said the new park will be key in the city's economic recovery.

"With some of the local job losses that we have had, it just really accentuates and drives home the point that [economic diversification] really needed to be done," he said.

Cook says the city will launch an aggressive campaign to recruit new businesses to further diversify the city's economy. Employment in Hutchinson took a hit when one of the city's largest employers, Hutchinson Technology Inc, laid off nearly half of its workforce as of last September.

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