The Owensboro Board of Commissioners has begun considering a revised rezoning proposal for the 121-acre Massie Property, the latest step in a years-long effort to prepare additional industrial land as available acreage at the Owensboro AirPark continues to shrink.
Commissioners held a first reading Tuesday of Ordinance 15-2026, which would rezone the property in the 3501-4301 blocks of West Parrish Avenue to I-1 Light Industrial. No vote was taken, as first readings are procedural.
The proposal follows a May decision by the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission, which voted 5-4 to recommend denying a request to rezone the property from a mix of A-R Rural Agriculture and I-1 Light Industrial to I-2 Heavy Industrial.
City officials and the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation have identified the Massie Property as a key component of the community’s long-term industrial growth strategy.
According to City Manager Nate Pagan, the effort began several years ago when economic development officials started evaluating potential sites for future industrial development as the AirPark moved closer to buildout.
“The Massie property was identified as being well located and suitable for economic development purposes,” Pagan told commissioners.
The city ultimately purchased approximately 122 acres in August 2025. Since then, city officials and GOEDC have worked on engineering studies, utility planning, and traffic analyses aimed at preparing the site for future development.
Pagan said the AirPark now has approximately 30 acres of publicly controlled land remaining, making it increasingly important to identify and prepare additional industrial sites.
The property is currently split-zoned, with roughly 56% classified as agricultural and 44% already zoned I-1 Light Industrial.
Pagan said the city initially sought I-2 Heavy Industrial zoning because it allows a broader range of industrial uses and would provide maximum flexibility for future recruitment efforts. However, that request narrowly failed at the planning commission level.
“We cannot have an industrial park that has a majority of agriculturally zoned property,” Pagan said.
The May OMPC meeting drew more than 75 residents, many of whom voiced concerns about the possibility of a future data center locating on the property. Although city officials repeatedly stated that no data center proposal had been submitted or was under consideration, the issue dominated much of the public discussion.
Following the OMPC vote, the city exercised its right under state law to seek review by the City Commission, which has final authority over zoning map amendments within city limits.
City Attorney Mark Pfeiffer told commissioners that the city filed the required notice within the statutory deadline and will base its decision on evidence presented during the May hearing.
The proposal now before commissioners differs from the original request.
Rather than pursuing I-2 zoning, the city is seeking to rezone the entire property to I-1 Light Industrial.
“We’ve reviewed the testimony of citizens at the hearing before OMPC, and it was expressed rather consistently by numerous members of the public that they supported a rezoning to I-1 rather than I-2,” Pfeiffer said.
If approved, the rezoning would be subject to several conditions recommended by planning staff. Those include requiring access from West Parrish Avenue to comply with an approved traffic impact study, prohibiting direct access to the Wendell Ford Expressway, maintaining transportation improvements identified in the traffic study, and providing connectivity to adjoining properties.
Economic development officials say the zoning change is important even without a specific project currently on the horizon.
GOEDC Vice President of Business Development Brad Davis said the organization has secured or is pursuing approximately $3.9 million for preliminary site development work, including engineering, site preparation, and infrastructure planning.
The funding includes a $1 million Kentucky Product Development Initiative grant that is still moving through state approval channels and an additional $2.9 million appropriated by the Kentucky General Assembly through House Bill 900.
Davis said the goal is to make the site as close to construction-ready as possible before a company expresses interest.
“What would lessen the competitiveness of the site is to have part of it zoned industrial, because part of it is zoned industrial, but the rest of it’s zoned agricultural,” Davis said.
He added that companies evaluating locations often want sites that are already prepared for development.
“Companies don’t want to wait when they make a decision,” Davis said.
Davis said GOEDC currently has no active project tied to the Massie Property. However, he noted the site was identified through a consultant-led review of multiple properties several years ago and has attracted interest from prospective employers in the past.
He said the long-term goal is to position Owensboro to compete for future manufacturing and industrial projects as economic conditions improve.
“The important thing for the community is that we’re ready to go when projects start to happen,” Davis said. “If you wait until the projects start coming, you’re behind the eight ball compared to other communities.”
Davis said the property could ultimately accommodate multiple employers, similar to the AirPark, potentially creating hundreds of jobs over time.
Separately, Pagan told commissioners that construction on an extension of AirPark Drive is expected to begin as early as July. The project is intended to support continued development within the AirPark as remaining industrial acreage is absorbed.
The Massie Property rezoning will return to the City Commission for a second reading and final consideration at a future meeting. If approved, the entire 121-acre tract would carry an I-1 Light Industrial designation rather than the I-2 Heavy Industrial zoning originally requested.
