CHRISTIAN COUNTY, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – After several years of on and off construction and continually reassuring local officials, Ascend Elements no longer owns Apex 1 in Christian County. The Southwestern Kentucky Economic Development Council briefly discussed next steps during their June 29 meeting.
This past spring, the President & CEO of Ascend announced that the company voluntarily initiated a Chapter 11 process, initially stating that their Apex 1 facility in Hopkinsville would not be impacted. SWK EDC Executive Director Carter Hendricks confirmed that Turner-Kokosing Joint Venture purchased the facility in a bid process shortly after they filed for bankruptcy.
Work had been paused for an extended period of time at Apex 1 leading up to the sale, with evidence of construction and overgrown brush visible at their John Rivers Road location. In October of 2025, just over 50% of the total investment was put into the facility, with strides mostly made on the exterior.
New owners plan to sell
Hendricks said they have already established communication with the new owners of Apex 1, “They are actively, aggressively trying to find someone that can come in and get that space and build it out and turn it into an operating facility, just like we all want, that creates jobs and opportunity.”
The joint venture company that purchased the facility is a partnership between Turner Construction and Kokosing Industrial, which were both building the plant and were involved in a lawsuit with Ascend that previously halted construction. They paid a $31.7 million bid for the facility in early June, according to reports from Industrial Info Resources…