Alamance County continued to see strong growth in its attraction to national companies seeking distribution centers along the I-85/40 corridor that runs through the county.
Mebane, on both sides of the county line, was also a hub for such activity in 2024. And more projects are being planned – in both Mebane and Burlington. Available, but currently vacant, warehouse-style buildings are in Mebane and Graham.
Now operating, and highly visible along the edge of I-85/40 is the largest warehouse facility in the county, with 1 million square feet, built by United Parcel Service. UPS trucks of all sizes have become omnipresent along the Hawfields-Trollingwood Road exit near the UPS distribution center. The UPS center is on 165.5 acres fronting the interstate.
When it was announced in 2021, it was expected that employment at the UPS center would reach 451 full-time jobs with annual salaries averaging $65,147.
The UPS center is just down the road from the original tenant in the North Carolina Commerce Park, Walmart, which also announced during the year a doubling of its facility, from around 500,000 square feet to about 1 million, rivaling its new cross-street neighbor.
Plans were filed last summer for a proposed second phase at the Walmart distribution center that opened in 2016, more than doubling the square footage of the center, to more than 1.1 million square feet; the center sits on 186 acres in the North Carolina Commerce Park, a Hawfields-area industrial park between Graham and Mebane.
The cities of Graham and Mebane, together with Alamance County government, provided economic incentives for both the original Walmart facility, as well as the UPS one.
But some other facilities haven’t sought incentives.
Al Neyer, one of the nation’s largest development companies, has completed three warehouses in the Buckhorn area, just across the county line in eastern Orange County.
The sole tenant thus far is the Stihl Corporation, which manufacturers outdoor power equipment and related products. It has now occupied a 265,200 square foot building on a 27.8 acre lot.
When it announced its plans, Stihl said it would use the entire building and add 15,000 square feet for regional offices and dealer training. An outside demonstration area was also described as an addition in order to allow for product training for sales staff as well as dealer training events.
Still had already operated a smaller warehouse in the Meadowlands business complex in Hillsborough, near the Orange County Sportsplex. One of the key factors in choosing the new Mebane location, according to Stihl representatives, was the close proximity to its current location so as to retain the existing Stihl workforce in Hillsborough and yet large enough to accommodate 10 years of future growth.
The other two warehouses in the Buckhorn Industrial Park, also built by Al Neyer, have 330,000 and 210,000 square feet, but tenants have not yet been announced for those; both appear to be largely complete, at least on the exterior.
Neither is there an announced tenant for another Al Neyer project, this one a few exits away, in Graham. A warehouse off Jimmie Kerr Road and Truby Drive has 579,000 square feet. During the winter, it can be seen through brush on the north side of the interstate near the exit on the opposite side of the freeway from Alamance Community College.
A warehouse with 297,000 square feet, on the Graham side of the North Carolina Commerce Park, has largely been completed by Greensboro-based Windsor Commercial, which built the warehouse next door, occupied since late 2021 by an Amazon distribution center. There has been no announcement about a possible tenant for the second building.
Another large warehouse looks to be near completion in the North Carolina Commerce Park near the entrance along Hawfields-Trollingwood Road. Crow Holdings of Texas plans two warehouses in the area, which is beside the future location of a Buckee’s.
The larger warehouse, with 248,310 square feet, along Sen. Ralph Scott Parkway, appears to be near completion. Construction has not begun on the second, scheduled to have 156,000 square feet, according to plans filed with the city of Mebane.
Among other warehouse projects on the horizon, The Bluescope Property Group of Kansas City, Missouri purchased two lots last fall along Whites Kennel Road in Burlington and announced plans to build a 187,5000 square foot building near the current Sheetz distribution center.
Meanwhile, in Mebane, the city council in the summer of 2024 approved two additional warehouses near the Buckhorn Road exit where Neyer’s projects occupy the western side of the road.
These warehouses, with 292,640 and 233,740 square feet, would be near a proposed truck terminal, also approved by Mebane’s city council.
And in Graham, along Cherry Lane, near I-85/40, another developer has had plans since 2022 for five warehouse buildings totaling 745,700 square feet on a 94-acre site beside the interstate. The buildings’ square footages are listed as: 290,500; 285,600; 67,200; 54,400; and 48,000, but no construction permits have been filed.
