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This week’s announcement of a new electric battery manufacturing plant in Marshall County, Mississippi is the latest vision of what the eastern edge of Shelby County is destined to become. The plant slightly south of the Tennessee-Mississippi line might as well be in Collierville it is that close, probably even closer than Byhalia, which seems to be referred to as the official location. The Mississippi Legislature held a special session Thursday to approve all of the particulars and funding and agreements for the development on the Chickasaw Trails Industrial Park. That seemed to be a foregone conclusion after Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves’ official announcement on Tuesday. Everyone was excited and positive about the plan. The plans are that it will be a $1.9 BILLION development with plans by three companies – Cummins, Daimler Trucks and Paccar – to build the batteries. The projected 2,000 new jobs will result in average salaries of $66,000, equaling $132 million in annual payroll. The addition of those jobs does raise the question of how that will affect Collierville, Germantown, Byhalia, Holly Springs and any incorporated area within 20 miles of the site. Coupled with BlueOval City north of Exit 42 on Interstate 40, eastern Shelby and western Fayette appear on the verge of a population change. I wonder what places like Rossville, Moscow, Somerville and Gallaway are going to look like in 10 years? Do the landowners who have wide open spaces in the rural areas sell for development? Hold on for a commercial plan? Or even better, hope for some of the ancillary businesses that will accompany the two electric battery plants? And the other consideration is whether incorporated sections try to hang on to their small-town atmosphere in spite of what the two projects bring to the area. I expect the area is going to change. Developers are going to realize employees want to live close to the plants where they work. Commercial ventures will realize they have products to sell to those who move into the area. More convenience stores, liquor stores, banks, restaurants and grocers will seize upon the larger customer base. Perhaps it won’t happen. Perhaps the cities and communities will somehow hang on to the small-town atmosphere they have tried to maintain. The places people moved to get away from the hustle and bustle of Memphis and its frantic pace. But I’m guessing it is only a matter of time before the change is a-comin’. - Suburbs editor Clay Bailey
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By Rob Moore
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