GEO Solutions is set to follow Toyota north

An industrial park in north Huntsville designed to be environmentally friendly may be getting its first tenant.

GEO Solutions LLC, which provides engineering and materials testing services, announced plans Wednesday to move to North Huntsville Industrial Park, north of Toyota Motor Corp.'s engine plant. The company wants to buy an option for the first lot in the park's conservation design phase, at Pulaski Pike and Liberty Hill Road. Huntsville City Council is scheduled to vote on the contract tonight.

GEO Solutions is currently located on Commercial Drive. Plans call for construction of a 20,000-square-foot building to begin in the spring and be completed next fall, said William Kennard, one of GEO Solutions' owners. The building would house the company's offices and a materials testing laboratory.

GEO Solutions provides environmental engineering soil and materials testing and other services. Projects the company has worked on include the Village of Providence, Bridge Street and Toyota's recent plant expansion.

The city announced in August plans to develop the 250-acre conservation design phase of the industrial park, at Pulaski Pike and Bob Wade Lane. The conservation area is the first industrial development in Alabama to incorporate environmental protection in its design, with features including retention ponds, greenspace and walking trails. About half of its existing farmland would be preserved.

The city, Tennessee Valley Authority and Center for Economic Development and Resource Stewardship are partners in the development project.

GEO Solutions, a sister company of Civil Solutions LLC, was formed two years ago and has grown from two employees to 25, Kennard said. He expects the company to double in size during the next few years and plans to hire engineers, geologists, environmental scientists and technicians.

Mayor Loretta Spencer said she hopes the new development will lead to more residential growth on the city's north side.

"We have a number of people who have shown interest in developing in the area," she said. "People want to live close to work, and we want to provide that for them."