The largest patch of available land for large employers in St. Clair County is now open.

The City of Moody opened the Kelly Creek Commerce Park off Exit 147 on Interstate 20 Thursday. A joint venture of the city, Capstone Real Estate Investments and Graham & Co., the park features 172 acres with prepared sites to provide faster construction timelines.

The park is designed to accommodate corporate headquarters, manufacturers and distributors.

“We understand that without a prepared commerce park for manufacturers, it will be hard to recruit new employers into the City of Moody and the Birmingham region,” Moody Mayor Joe Lee said. “This development will have an incredible impact on the funding of our schools, once the new tenants begin to locate in the park.”

Announced two years ago as a $125 million project, the park was planned for five to six firms or more, with multiple shifts to avoid putting a heavy burden on area roads. More than two years of planning and preliminary engineering work went into the project before it was announced.

“Having industry-ready sites is a high priority for Alabama’s economic development team today, and the opening of the Kelly Creek Commerce Park in Moody gives us another valuable resource as we pursue growth projects that create jobs for the state’s citizens,” Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said.

Developer Mike Graham of Graham & Co. said the goal was to offer “shovel ready” sites. More than 100 acres of the park are already cleared with infrastructure. Don Smith, executive director of the St. Clair EDC, credited the state’s Growing Alabama program with helping the project become a reality.