The Kentucky Transpark is projected to have a $5 billion impact on the community in the next decade, according to a Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce official. Evidence of that impact resurfaces Thursday.

Currently, the transpark – off U.S. 31-W and soon off a newly built exit off Interstate 65 – provides 2,055 jobs for people in southcentral Kentucky.

The chamber of commerce, through a management contract with the Intermodal Transpark Authority, leads the development of the more than 900-acre transpark.

On Thursday, chamber officials and community leaders will gather over barbecue following the 1 p.m. ribbon-cutting for transpark Speculative Building VI.

Tours of the ever-expanding transpark will also be available after the ribbon-cutting.

“Our goal is to provide a competitive advantage for our Southcentral Kentucky region to encourage economic growth and job creation,” said Kim Phelps, vice president for communications and public policy for the chamber of commerce, in an email Friday.

“Toward that end, we have developed a continuum of quality sites allowing businesses to quickly locate or expand their operations. Our innovative development strategy includes graded pads, “Build-Ready” certified sites, speculative buildings and, for the first time, a privately developed speculative building,” Phelps said.

“We have been extremely fortunate with this strategy, selling the first five speculative buildings within a year of their completion. The industry norm for the sale

of speculative buildings is three to five years,” she said. “Additionally, we were the first community in the state to have two certified Build-Ready sites.”

The sprawling transpark has seen the following industries move into its environs since its inception. In the order in which they arrived were Bowling Green Metalforming; American Howa Kentucky (Spec Building 1); Cannon Automotive (Spec II); Shiloh Industries (Spec III); Alpla, Inc. (Spec IV); Bilstein Cold Rolled Steel; Quiver Ventures LLC; and TMS Automotive (Spec V).

Also added to the transpark were three education entities, the Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College’s transpark campus; the Warren County Area Technology Center; and the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative, which serves more than 40 public school districts in the state and Western Kentucky University. Goodwill Industries has also located in the transpark.

The spec buildings have brought a lot of industry to the park, since Bowling Green Metalforming, Bilstein and Quiver are the only industrial entities that didn’t start out with spec buildings.

According to additional information provided by Phelps, spec buildings are an important economic development strategy.

“Spec buildings shorten construction timelines, reduce project costs and reduce risks for companies seeking to locate,” she said. “Spec buildings provide a base building that can be customized by the company to meet their specific needs such as floor depth, lighting and layout, giving the company the ‘best of both worlds’ so to speak. They do not have to start from scratch, but are able to customize the building to their exact specifications,” she said.

The chamber noted that each of its spec buildings is designed with expansion in mind, which helps companies move quickly when they decide to expand.

In other economic news, Bowling Green area residents will have the opportunity to sample food at another new restaurant, Chipotle Mexican Grill, the chain of burrito restaurants committed to serving food made from sustainably raised ingredients, according to a company news release.

“We’re changing the way people think about and eat fast food through Food With Integrity,” said Chris Arnold, communications director at Chipotle, in a news release. “We’re proud to open a restaurant in Bowling Green so residents can enjoy fresh, high-quality food prepared quickly – and, they can feel good about it.”

Chipotle Mexican Grill is scheduled to be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. It opened Sunday on Scottsville Road for its first day of business and was closed Monday for the holiday, said Emily Rado, company spokesman. With the newest location, Chipotle now operates 15 total restaurants in Kentucky.

Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-chief executive officer, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast-food experience, according to the company release.

Chipotle offers a menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in 1993 and operates more than 2,000 restaurants, including 26 Chipotle restaurants outside the U.S. and 14 ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants.

— Follow business reporter Charles A. Mason on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.