More than thirty new jobs are coming to Bell County as part of a brand new development, and that could be just the beginning.

It is a project two years in the making, but it will soon be providing some economic relief, and some say it is coming just in time.

It is not a good time to be looking for a job. Just ask David Gambrel, Jr.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," says Gambrel, who recently lost his job. He says he has few options in finding a new one.

"The last few days I've really been down, in pretty bad shape," says Gambrel.

But Gambrel and others are encouraged by a brand new development in Middlesboro. A new Tractor Supply store is the first business to go up on the site, and it promises dozens of new jobs.

But the land wasn't always so attractive.

"A lot of big names have looked at this land to try to build some commercial ventures on it, and nobody would do it," says Bill Hayes, one of site's three developers.

The land was an old dumpsite. But its developers hope many new businesses will open there, leading to hundreds of jobs.

"Nobody believed you could do anything with any of these sites in the mountains, and I'm about to believe you can do anything you want with 'em," says Hayes.

Just off Highway 25E as you enter Middlesboro from the north, developers say the location has a lot of potential, and they believe it will pay off for the people of Bell County.

"It's important we have jobs for our people, and it's important we have places to go so they'll stay at home," says Hayes.

And keep the local economy going, even through tough times.

The new Tractor Supply store is expected to open by mid-September. And it's not the only new location in eastern Kentucky. There is a new Tractor Supply store being built in Hazard at the site of the old Goodys.