UPS has closed on the purchase of land at the Hawfields-area industrial park to build a $262 million distribution center that is estimated to span 1 million square feet and create 451 full-time jobs with annual salaries averaging $65,147.
UPS purchased the four parcels in the Hawfields area industrial park late last month from Samet for $9.4 million, based on documents that have been filed with Alamance County’s Register of Deeds, consummating the transaction. Known formally as the North Carolina Commerce Park, the Hawfields-area industrial park is located between Graham and Mebane and part of which fronts I-85/40. UPS plans to build its distribution facility along Senator Ralph Scott Parkway, near the Walmart distribution center that opened in 2016.
UPS officials estimate that, in addition to the 451 full-time jobs that the company will create at the Hawfields distribution center, approximately 1,000 part-time workers would be needed but has not yet disclosed potential hourly pay rates for those jobs.
Kevin Zaletel, a senior project manager for UPS, told Alamance County’s commissioners late last summer, that the facility in the Hawfields area industrial park would be able to process up to 58,000 packages an hour once it’s built and fully operational. A first phase of the Hawfields distribution center is targeted to be operating at half-capacity within two years and fully operational by 2024, based on plans that Zaletel outlined for the commissioners.
“That site would allow us to build an additional building that would be able to process 30,000 packages an hour – larger packages – and an additional 15,000 smaller [packages],” Zaletel told the commissioners. “The property also allows us to have two future expansions…It is a very challenging site, but it’s a site that I think would work to meet our needs.”
Preliminary plans for the UPS facility in the Hawfields industrial park include an automotive shop; a vehicle wash bay; and a package pickup area for customers who prefer that option to delivery.
Samet purchased approximately 162 acres for the forthcoming UPS distribution center for $5.5 million late last month from Kimrey Farms, LLC and Interstate Investments of Alamance, LLC, based on documents that have been filed with the county’s Register of Deeds.
Samet conveyed all four parcels on the same date to BT-OH, LLC, a real estate company affiliated with UPS; both are based in Atlanta, Georgia.
The two municipalities also conveyed a 7.78-acre swath of land to UPS to use, at no charge, as a public access roadway between the forthcoming distribution center and Senator Ralph Scott Parkway, according to a special warranty deed that has been filed with the county’s Register of Deeds.
UPS estimates that it will invest a total of $316.4 million in the Hawfields industrial park and at an existing distribution hub in Greensboro over the next four years, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office announced last fall. N.C. Commerce Secretary Anthony Copeland noted at the time that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a boon for e-commerce, highlighting the need for logistics expansions such as the 1 million square foot distribution facility that UPS plans to build in Alamance County.
The construction of a new UPS distribution center in Alamance County and an expansion its existing hub in Greensboro are estimated to yield a total annual payroll impact of $38.5 million for the region, according to the governor’s office.
UPS would receive up to $10.23 million in reimbursements over 12 years through the state’s Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) incentive program, which requires companies to meet job creation and tax revenue targets to receive those payments, according to the governor’s office.
The county, along with the cities of Graham and Mebane, each approved $3.9 million in cash grants that would be paid to UPS in five annual installments once construction of the Hawfields area distribution center is complete. Mebane’s city council also agreed to waive $150,000 in development fees. The incentives agreement with UPS contains provisions for the three local governments to recoup their contributions and prorate their cash payments if the company falls short of investment and job creation targets.
The additional demand for shipping brought about by the coronavirus pandemic pushed UPS to an overall increase of 15.5 percent in total revenue between the end of its third quarter in 2019 and the end of its third quarter on September 30, 2020, according to an analysis by the company. UPS is scheduled to release its latest report for the fourth quarter on Tuesday morning.
Founded in 1907, UPS provides logistics and supply-chain management services across 220 nations and territories, delivering approximately 5.5 billion packages and documents per year. The Atlanta-based company currently has about 528,000 employees, including 2,461 in North Carolina, at more than 1,800 facilities worldwide, according to UPS.
