AGP purchases land from development corporation for $3.1 million

A company planning to build a soybean processing plant on the northeast edge of town has paid just more than $3.1 million to the Aberdeen Development Corp. for 300 acres of land.

A property transfer for the land in Whitewood Industrial Park, near the intersection of Eighth Avenue Northeast and County Road 14, was filed last month. AGP is listed as the purchaser.

Keith Spackler, AGP CEO, said during a December news conference that it is a standard practice to not disclose the cost of projects for competitive reasons, but that Aberdeen’s soybean processing plant is the largest single investment in the company’s history.

Mike Bockorny, CEO of the Aberdeen Development Corp., said that although it has not been discussed in depth, he is positive the money received by the development corporation will be used to purchase more land.

Buying land in areas not within the current industrial park is an option, he said.

In fact, Bockorny said, the Aberdeen Development Corp. is currently engaged in a strategic planning process. It will wait for those results before it decides how to move forward, he said. County commissioners, city officials, Mayor Mike Levsen, community members and others will be consulted, he said.

There is no time frame for making a decision regarding the funds. The development corporation’s board of directors will make the final call on how the money is spent, Bockorny said.

“All of those funds will be put back to use to continue our mission of economic and job development,” he said.

AGP’s purchase of the land is just one step in a long process before construction can begin on the soybean plant. In December, Spackler projected that final negotiations, construction decisions and permitting would take around 18 months.

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