A flurry of speculation is afoot about another industrial project, this one on the Graham side of the Hawfields-area industrial park.
Over the past two years, Windsor Commercial has built a 300,000 square foot shell building along Governor Scott Farm Road on the far western boundary (Graham side) of the park which is shared by both Graham and Mebane, and for which the county also provides financing for incentives to attract companies to the county.
During a city council meeting on March 4 that focused mostly on the upcoming budget, Julianne Cordon, the city’s finance officer, also gave a hint of something anticipated at the Windsor building. “We have a major interest in this building from a couple of sources,” she told the council that morning.
The Alamance News has learned that at least two recent points of interest have been a manufacturer and a distribution center.
Apparently, the manufacturer could involve as many as 1,000 new jobs, at high salaries, while the distribution center might entail a few hundred at somewhat lower salaries – although most recent announcements have been at or above Alamance County’s average wage.
Graham officials are hoping for the manufacturer, which promises more and higher-paying jobs. But distribution centers have been a major factor in local economic development, both in the Hawfields-area park and elsewhere in the county.
The park is already home to large distribution centers for Walmart and the German grocer Lidl. (The Windsor site is beside Lidl’s.)
Earlier this year, both UPS and Chick-fil-A announced distribution centers – for UPS on the other end of the Hawfields-area park, and for Chick-fil-A in Mebane’s North Carolina Industrial Center off South Third Street. Another major distribution center is under construction for Medline on the Orange County side of Mebane.
In a brief interview with The Alamance News, Buddy Seymour, the president-manager of Windsor Commercial, confirmed that Windsor has “had interest” from companies representing both the manufacturing and distributing industries. He wouldn’t divulge which was the current leading contender for the spec building Windsor has under construction or otherwise characterize the possible tenant.
Work was underway at the site earlier this week. While the shell of the building is up, windows have not yet been installed, and it does not appear that the flooring is finished. Seymour would only say that “more site improvements” are underway at the Graham location.
Asked for a timeframe on a potential announcement, Seymour said he hoped something would be finalized with his company “within 60 days,” but cautioned that even a finalized lease or purchase would not necessarily allow him to release information about it – inasmuch as the tenant might want to release the information on its own time frame.
Meanwhile, others told the newspaper that they’re expecting something to be finalized by mid-May.
Asked whether the company would typically lease its building or sell, Seymour responded, “We have a preference to lease, but a willingness to sell.”
OTHER BUSINESS NEWS:
Lotus Bakeries announces third expansion, seeks incentives from county, Mebane: https://alamancenews.com/its-official-newest-lotus-incentive-request-from-county-is-600k-for-60m-investment/
UPS plans distribution center at Hawfields area industrial park: https://alamancenews.com/ups-pays-9-4m-for-land-to-build-distribution-center-at-hawfields-park/
Chick-fil-A announced distribution center to be built in Mebane: https://alamancenews.com/breaking-tuesday-its-official-gov-confirms-that-chick-fil-a-will-build-distribution-center-in-mebane/
