BlueOval SK Battery Park spurs massive growth in Hardin County. Here's what it means.

ELIZABETHTOWN, KY. — Driving down Interstate 65 south of Elizabethtown it's nearly impossible to miss the massive $5.8 billion BlueOval SK Battery Park sitting just off the interstate edge.

To people outside of Hardin County, the 1,500-acre joint venture project between Ford Motor Co. and South Korea-based SK On popped up seemingly overnight, but for locals, the 2021 announcement came after more than two decades of preparation.

"The important thing that we like to tell people is that this wasn't that big of a surprise to us," said Joe Reverman, director of planning and development for the city of Elizabethtown. "We have known that something was going on that site for over 20 years."

Now that a project has finally committed to the site, construction is on pace and operations are expected to start next year. With it, Hardin County is experiencing exponential growth and development all while preparing to welcome thousands more residents.

"We've known that it's coming, and we already had kind of the pieces in place to ... handle that growth whenever it did happen," Reverman said regarding the way the city has been able to expedite the planning and development process.

The land of the battery park mega site in Glendale, a rural village south of Elizabethtown, was originally purchased and gifted to the county from the state in 2001 to become an industrial manufacturing mecca. At one time, former Gov. Paul Patton thought the site would become home to Hyundai, but that fell through. Former Gov. Steve Beshear also had hopes for the site that never panned out.

BlueOval SK Battery Park is expected to create 5,000 jobs for Kentuckians and a direct payroll of $265 million in 2026 . In October, Ford announced it would delay production at the second battery plant on the site due to the EV market demand not rising as quickly as the company initially anticipated.

Andy Games, president and COO of the Elizabethtown-Hardin County Industrial Foundation , the economic development arm of the county, isn't worried about this delay, noting, "It's given us time to take a deep breath."

As the 10th largest manufacturing facility in the world gears up to start production in 2025, here's a look at the ripple effects sprawling through Hardin County:

Will the BlueOval SK Battery Park create more jobs in Hardin County?

Since the BlueOval SK Battery Park announcement, Hardin County, which is already home to a robust manufacturing industry, has seen increased interest from companies and developers spanning from Michigan to Florida to South Korea.

"We get calls from developers from all over the country looking for ground," said Games. "I think it's just people are hearing about it, knowing that there's a large influx of people coming and just some interest."

Games said within 18 months of the battery park news, 90% of the remaining available industrial park land the foundation manages was sold to Korean supplier companies.

"It's been exciting for a guy that grew up here," Games said. "The things that I think that we are going to see in the next five to 10 years are things that we may not have ever thought we might have. The growth is exciting."

Housing demands skyrocket in Hardin County

The county anticipates a population increase of more than 22,000 by 2030, with the majority of residents landing in Elizabethtown, pushing the city to become the fifth largest in the state. A study indicates the county will need more than 8,800 new housing units to support the growing population.

Adam King, the director and building official for the Hardin County Planning and Development Commission, said to support the construction workers on the battery park project, including more than 2,800 traveling workers , the county has built "several RV parks that have provided some temporary housing."

But King recognizes this temporary housing won't be enough to support the pending population boom.

King said in the areas immediately surrounding the unincorporated Glendale, his office has permitted six residential duplexes and 64 new single-family dwellings this year alone. There are also seven new subdivisions in the works across the county, including the county's largest with 419 units. In a typical year, the county usually sees less than 200 new residential developments.

To support the twin battery plants at the Glendale site, the county and state have worked together to develop better transportation routes including the introduction of roundabouts, more funding allocated to the area, and additional projects to reduce the effects of commuter traffic on local roads. Local officials have noted a key concern is protecting the intact Historic Downtown Glendale, a relic on the National Register of Historic Places.

Reverman, who focuses on the development within Elizabethtown city limits, has seen an influx of permits for housing, ranging from multi-family to single-family homes. On average the city receives requests for roughly 150 housing units annually. From 2022 through the present, the city has seen around 2,000 new units permitted.

Reverman said recently the city has entered a new phase of development, "we've been seeing more commercial developments, restaurants, and grocery store interest."

"The United States of America has figured out where [Hardin County] is," Games said.

Contact reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter at @oliviamevans_

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: BlueOval SK Battery Park spurs massive growth in Hardin County. Here's what it means.