Two manufacturing companies that could bring a total of 200 jobs to Lawrence are seriously considering locating in the city’s newest business park, economic development leaders said Thursday.

“I think it is going well,” Larry McElwain, president and CEO of The Chamber, said of efforts to land the first tenants for the 220-acre Lawrence VenturePark on the former site of the Farmland Industries fertilizer plant. “The two prospects we are working with are solid.”

McElwain and other leaders of the Lawrence chamber of commerce provided an update at an economic development breakfast on Thursday. McElwain confirmed that The Chamber is in the process of putting together incentive packages to offer to the two companies. Ultimately, city and county commissioners will be responsible for deciding whether to approve those incentive packages.

“The competition is fierce for the type of projects that we’re competing for,” McElwain said.

Chamber officials did not provide many details about either prospect, but did confirm both are manufacturers. Between the two, the companies could add more than 200 jobs and $60 million worth of capital investment in the community, according to The Chamber. McElwain said one company is seeking a 10-acre site at VenturePark, while the other is seeking 90 acres. Previously the company had been seeking 120 acres, but the firm has modified its request.

McElwain also didn’t go into detail about the type of incentive packages The Chamber is crafting for consideration. One issue city commissioners likely will have to decide is whether they are willing to give free land to companies at VenturePark and how that land should be valued in terms of calculating the total incentives package.

The city did not pay to buy the former Farmland Industries site. Instead, it agreed to take over the environmentally blighted property after Farmland Industries fell into bankruptcy. The city received about $8.5 million in trust fund money to address the environmental issues on the site, the largest of which is groundwater that has been contaminated by nitrogen fertilizer. The city still has about $6 million in the trust fund, but will have future costs as it must continue to monitor and pump the groundwater on the site.

The city did spend about $8 million to build roads, sewers and other infrastructure at the site. It hopes to recoup those costs through special assessments on the property tax bills of future tenants.

Chamber officials said they do not yet have a time line for deals to materialize with the two prospects. Brady Pollington, economic development project manager for The Chamber, said he’s been working with the large prospect for more than a year and has been working with the company interested in the 10-acre site for about three months.

“It is very much a hurry up and wait scenario,” Pollington said.

In other news from the economic development event:

• Chamber officials reported that about 40 students thus far have enrolled for fall classes at the new Peaslee Tech training center near 29th Street and Haskell Avenue. The center is expected to start its first year in late August by offering classes in manufacturing technology, construction sciences, HVAC and other such topics. The school has set a goal of having 100 students for its inaugural year. The center has enrollment events scheduled for June and July.

The Lawrence school district also is on track to open its College & Career Center adjacent to Peaslee Tech this August. Hugh Carter, vice president of external affairs, said the school district is well on its way to meeting its goal of having 200 high school students enrolled in the College & Career Center.