By Jenna White

The N.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority has awarded the Town of Mocksville a  $411,425 grant to extend Quality Drive in the SouthPoint Business Park.

The improvements will consist of 900 feet of 24-foot-wide roadway, 900 feet of water lines and related equipment, and storm drainage, allowing The Hollingsworth Companies to begin construction on one spec building and three pre-graded building pads.

Construction of a 108,000 square-foot spec building, as well as 130,000 square feet, 150,000 square feet, and 250,000 square feet industrial site pads is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2018.

This new development has the potential of providing hundreds of jobs over the next five years.

“The grant and this expansion will enable Davie County to continue to expand our industrial efforts, giving our community a huge advantage in attracting new companies and jobs to our county,” said Terry Bralley, president of the Davie County Economic Development Commission. “This embraces the forward thinking leadership this community continues to provide.”

With this expansion, the SouthPoint Business Park, owned and developed by site-selection expert Joe Hollingsworth and The Hollingsworth Companies, will become one of the largest semi-rural industrial parks in the state.

The Hollingsworth Companies attributes the success and growth of the park to its central location, support from state and local economic development agencies, and favorable business taxes in the state.

The catalyst that kicked off this aggressive expansion was North Carolina’s regulatory reforms that relieved cost burdens of the 2012 IECC. The regulatory reforms reduced the costs of industrial buildings by as much as 13 percent, which has opened the door once again for developers like the Hollingsworth Companies to proactively invest in speculative industrial space, Bralley said.

“When we were initially looking for a private partner to shoulder the risk of speculative industrial development, we couldn’t find anyone locally who would take the risk in a small town like Mocksville,” said Bralley.    “But over in Tennessee,  we met the Hollingsworth Companies and not only were they willing, they were enthusiastic; and they still are nearly 20 years later. We have had a lot of big announcements in the last few years, and they are great, but the steady brick by brick approach of Hollingsworth has really made a difference in our community.”

Hollingsworth founded the SouthPoint Business Park in 1998. Phase I involved the development of 45 acres and the construction of four buildings with a total of 325,860 square feet. Phase II included the development of an additional 57 acres, and the construction of four more buildings totaling another 421,126 square feet of industrial space.

Phase III began in 2015 when the N.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority awarded Mocksville a $450,000 grant from the Industrial Development Fund to install a new road and bridge on Quality Drive to open up an additional 85 acres of land for future development.

Due to this most recent grant, these 85 acres can now be developed into four building sites totaling 641,000 square feet. The buildings will range in square foot size from 108,960; 134,960; 152,241; and 252,834. All are designed with the ability for future expansion. The largest building can be expanded to 378,000 square feet.

Building construction features include LED lighting, 32-foot minimum clear height, 60- by 60-feet column spacing, and ESFR fire suppression system.

Located on US 601, just north of  I-40 and near its nexus with I-77, Southpoint is a natural choice for logistics and includes major regional warehouses for Concordance Healthcare Solutions, Davie Warehousing, and Larson Manufacturing, Bralley said.  It has also become a location for light manufacturing.

Workforce development efforts by the Davie Campus of Davidson County Community College, a strong work ethic rooted in an agricultural history, and people who would rather work close to home than drive into an urban area have all contributed to the high productivity that is part of the park’s success, Bralley said.   

Thanks to Southpoint Business Park, Comfort Bilt, Gesipa Fasteners, Metal Sales Manufacturing, Davie Warehousing, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, Entrematic, Concordance Healthcare Solutions, and Morrisofa Global Inc. now call Davie County home, and they have provided the community with hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in investments.

According to Bralley, 90 percent of all companies seeking a new location are looking for an existing building.

“Our partnership with The Hollingsworth Companies means that we have an inventory of available buildings and permitted lots for people who don’t have time to waste. Further, we are blessed with a developer like Joe Hollingsworth who is flexible enough to lease, sell, or provide equity capital for companies locating in our community. This is an advantage that every small community and every economic developer would love to have and it continues to bring jobs and opportunity to Mocksville and Davie County.

“Our nearly 20-year public/private partnership has developed into a rare and cherished catalyst to economic development in Mocksville and Davie County. We are super excited to see the expansion of the SouthPoint Business Park, it just means there will be more good news to come. Stay tuned…”