FRANKFORT, Ken.  – Legend Lumber Lee Corp. will invest $3.5 million to renovate a shuttered hardwood lumber concentration yard in Boston, Kentucky. The investment will create at least 30 full-time positions to produce hardwood for export to Asia.

Jie “Jack” Li, president of Legend Lumber, bought the nearly 20 acre former SEEMAC Lumber facility, which closed in 2009. Li said he plans to expand it and purchase new equipment. He expects the operation to be fully operational by the end of 2017. The facility will bring in green lumber for kiln and air drying, sorting, grading and shipping.

VIDEO All about quarter sawing wood at Frank Miller Lumber Full animation shows the movement of the log through the saw blade and all the rotations to yield quartersawn boards.

The company’s initial 20 full-time positions will include 16 yard employees, two clerical staff and a yard manager later this year. Li anticipates hiring 10 to 15 additional yard employees in 2017.

“Demand for high-quality hardwoods in China remains particularly strong,” said Li, who has more than 20 years experience in the hardwood and an estensive customerbase in his native China. “With help from state and local economic developers in Kentucky, I’m pleased to have identified the SEEMAC concentration yard and put together a workable deal.”

To encourage the investment and job growth in Nelson County, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved Legend Lumber for tax incentives up to $600,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. It then approved Legend Lumber for up to $40,000 in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.