Rural Center Awards $98,500 Grant to Support Industrial Site Development in Warren County
- Georgia's Rural Center
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2025
Warren County, GA - The Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation, a branch of the Georgia Department of Agriculture and known as Georgia’s Rural Center, has approved a $98,500 grant to assist the Development Authority of Warren County with key civil engineering studies that will advance two major industrial sites and position the county for long-term economic growth.
Located along the Interstate 20 corridor just over 100 miles east of Atlanta, Warren County is home to approximately 6,000 residents and is strategically positioned for industrial expansion. The county’s two primary development sites, one a 1,400-acre tract adjacent to Interstate 20 and another 510-acre site along U.S. 278, offer significant potential but require critical infrastructure planning.
The larger 1,400-acre site currently lacks the water and sewer infrastructure needed for industrial recruitment. Georgia’s Rural Center’s grant funding will enable engineering evaluations to determine the cost and feasibility of delivering these essential services, an important step in preparing the property for prospective projects.
The second site, a 510-acre tract primed for a future data center campus, will benefit from engineering studies focused on identifying new groundwater sources. These water capacity assessments are vital to supporting operations for distribution centers or data centers that require additional groundwater for efficient performance.
“The funding from Georgia’s Rural Center gives Warren County the ability to take two high-potential industrial sites and accelerate the work needed to make these sites more market-ready and position our community to compete for projects that will bring jobs, tax revenue, and opportunity,” said O.B. McCorkle, Executive Director of the Development Authority of Warren County.
“We are excited to partner with Warren County to provide funding that will assist in developing two critical sites in rural Georgia,” said Charlie Fiveash, Executive Director of Georgia’s Rural Center. “We are grateful to Senator Max Burns for his support and advocacy for the project. Georgia's Rural Center looks for projects similar to these site development concepts to ensure that rural Georgia is positioned to capture new industrial and distribution center opportunities in parts of the state that need capital investment and job opportunities for our citizens.”
About Georgia’s Rural Center:
To date, Georgia’s Rural Center projects have resulted in a total investment in rural Georgia of more than $408 million, with $3 million of center funds, which is a 132:1 return ratio against CRPI funds. Since its inception in 2018, the work of Georgia’s Rural Center has touched all 159 of Georgia’s metro, suburban, and rural communities through regional and statewide projects, and directly impacted 73 counties through projects needed in rural communities to help them prosper and thrive.
About the Development Authority of Warren County
The Development Authority of Warren County is dedicated to providing facilities and resources to make businesses successful. It promotes Warren County’s vibrant business climate, quality workforce, and exceptional quality of life, leveraging its strategic location with access to major interstates, rail, and proximity to larger Georgia cities to support business activity. The Authority supports existing industry and helps attract new business.