What Does “Shovel-Ready” Mean?

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

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

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.

 

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