683 acre industrial park
Whitsett, NC
$14 Million investment
In 2005 the Guilford county industrial space was in short supply. Rock Creek Center had flourished in the 1980s and 1990s, landing companies such as Konica, Carolina Biological Supply and Legacy Furniture, the pension fund which owned the park appeared to lose interest . The pension fund would no longer construct building speculative warehouses for potential tenants, activity at the park slowed. The Development Team formed a partnership to acquire and resume active development of Rock Creek Center in 2005.
Goals for this acquistion and development were:
- Create a master plan for the entire park to guide future development
- Perform due dillligence work on sites to expedite projects
- Increase market and regional awareness with a major investment in advertising
- Grade land of speculative development and build to suit opportunities
- Construct speculative industrial product
The Development Team worked with Stimmell and Associates to create a comprehensive land use strategy. Comprehensive site investigation included documentation of wetlands, geo-technical investigation, slopes analysis, zoning, utilitiy maps, and other data. The resulting Master Plan provide a clear road map for the most efficient development of the sites.
The Development Team used the Master Plan and accompanying data to select two sites for speculative development. The first site was sold prior to completion of grading and developed into the now 300k sf Lenovo Center. The Development Team graded and speculatively developed the second site with a 272,000 sf industrial building that is now fully occupied.
The Development Team incorporated the Master Plan and data into a comprehensive marketing outreach to potential users and site location consultants. That effort resulted in attracting Precor (239,500 sf) as well as America Express (500,000 sf)
Since taking over the development of Rock Creek Center in 2005, the efforts of the Development Team created the development of over 1.5 million square feet as well as the creation of over $500 million in new investment. Highlights include:
- Acquired 683 acres in October 2005 for $12MM or $17,570 per acre
- Capitalized by $5.33 million in equity and a credit facility with a limit of $8.3 million
- As of 2014, sold 250 acres for $13.3 million gross or $53,411 per acre
- 79% of the equity has been returned to the Investors – $4.2MM
- Approximately 425 acres remain (63% of the original 683 acres)
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2005/09/19/story1.html
