STANTON, Tenn. — Tuesday marks one year since the Ford Motor Company announced Blue Oval City. The project will bring thousands of jobs building electric trucks and batteries to Haywood County starting in 2025.
Nearby, leaders in the tiny town of Stanton are also preparing for huge growth.
Last week, Ford leaders shared visuals of construction work underway at the Blue Oval City site, 40 miles north of Memphis.
Stanton Mayor Allan Sterbinsky issued a study, which projects population in the community will explode from 450 today to more than 10,000 in 2035.
That means extensive efforts are underway for needed infrastructure improvements to handle the influx of new homes, offices, and stores.
"For the next year we are going to say, OK, here's the water that needs to be put in, here's the sewer, here's how we are going to put it in, here's the gas, how that's going to go in, the electricity, the roads, where are they going to need to connect, let's go get it in, so it's implementation this year and probably the next three to five years as well," Mayor Sterbinsky said.
The Stanton mayor said work also continues to secure additional state and federal dollars in the months ahead to assist with the community's expected Blue Oval City-related growth.