If you’ve spent any time looking at properties, pursuing commercial and industrial real-estate, it’s likely you’ve run across the term “shovel-ready.” We recently shared information on the “shovel-ready” parcels of land available at the West Bend Manufacturing Center. But what does the term “shovel-ready” actually mean and how does it impact the building process?

General Definition of Shovel Ready

What Does "Shovel-Ready" Mean?The term “shovel ready” is one you will often hear from developers and commercial real estate salespeople when speaking about available land to clients. Merriam-Webster dictionary offers a simple definition of “a construction project or site that is ready for the start of work.” Maybe that definition is a bit too simple! There are specific expectations and work that needs to be completed to make a plot of land ready for construction and worthy of the “shovel-ready” designation.

Typically, a “shovel ready” site refers to one that has environmental clearances and necessary infrastructure in place. It implies that a company could purchase the land and start moving ground as soon as their plans are approved. For example, The West Bend Manufacturing Center shovel-ready sites have high-capacity sewer and water utilities in place, as well as electric and gas utilities through We Energies.

Locating Shovel-Ready Sites in Washington County, Wisconsin

What Does "Shovel-Ready" Mean?So, how does one go about finding sites that have the necessary infrastructure in place and are indeed, ready for shovels to hit the ground? EDWC provides access to a robust site-selection tool. This resource allows you to identify available locations that meet your requirements and provide customized layers of data to support decision-making for your project. Doing a quick search, using the filter for “shovel-ready,” as of February 2023, you will see 11 sites that meet this criterion.

We also have a team of experts skilled in navigating the site selection tool to return the results you are looking for in your search for “shovel-ready” land.

Explore Site Selection Tool

 

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