New BlueCross Healthy Place planned for small town near massive EV manufacturing campus

Another company is investing in community space in the vicinity of Ford Motor Co.'s $5.6 billion BlueOval City.

The BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation plans to establish a $1.44 million BlueCross Healthy Place in Henning, Tennessee, a small town of 875 about 30 miles from Ford's electric vehicle manufacturing campus.

The park will feature play areas for young children, adult fitness equipment, a community pavilion, and general sidewalk and landscape improvements.

“We’re proud that our foundation is supporting the revitalization of Henning by creating a BlueCross Healthy Place in the heart of town where residents can come together and enjoy healthy activity," John Hawbaker, managing director of corporate communications and community relations at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST), told MBJ.

BCBST's foundation is also working on a $9.6 million Healthy Place in Memphis at the National Civil Rights Museum. That new park is set to open this summer.

West Tennessee communities' leadership has spent the four years since BlueOval City's original announcement planning for the projected large-scale growth in what is a mostly rural region. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) has held regular meetings since January 2022, touching on everything from critical project details to how communities can prepare.

This year's TNECD meetings have largely focused on attracting development as communities seek to grow. The BlueOval SK battery facility is scheduled to open this year and the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center in 2027.

The first meeting in February focused on how to plan for development generally, with the other two held this year focusing on potential incentives towns can utilize, including PILOTs (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes), Opportunity Zones, and Tax Increment Financing Districts (TIFs).

The next TNECD community meeting is scheduled to be held on May 14 and is set to be focused specifically on attracting housing development.