Lowndes supervisors clear path for CalStar deal

Published April 18, 2013 8:01am EST



COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — Lowndes County will apply for $6.6 million in grants and loans to support the location a facility for a building material manufacturer.

Golden Triangle Development Link CEO Joe Max Higgins says CalStar Products would create at least 58 jobs and possibly up to 100 within the next three years. CalStar opened a plant in Caledonia, Wis., in 2010.

The Commercial Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/100f1xZ) that the county will apply for a 20-year, $5.35 million loan through the Mississippi Development Authority. It will use $2.85 million to buy the property for CalStar and use the remainder to help with construction of the facility.

CalStar will seek funding of $5 million for the factory.

The county will also apply for $1.25 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for additional property improvements.