Development authority considering a spec building
The panel wants to know what the competitive landscape looks like.
The Rome-Floyd County Development Authority wants more information about the availability of speculative industrial buildings before deciding if it wants to invest more than $ 5 million in such a facility.
Rome Floyd Chamber Economic Development Director Heather Seckman told authority members she has had 29 inquiries from industrial prospects in the last 16 months about available space. “Speed to market is everything,” Seckman said. “We really need a spec building.”
Seckman said the only building she currently has to show prospects is the old Shaw plant on East 12th Street. Authority member Jimmy Byars, CEO and broker at Hardy Realty, confirmed there was virtually no inventory to show prospects in Rome and Floyd County.
Industries and site selection consultants alike have indicated that 100,000 square feet under roof seems to be the critical size companies are looking at today. Seckman said a spec building, fully completed, could cost upwards of $ 100 per square foot. Some buildings are built with three walls, some have concrete foundations poured, others left with dirt or gravel to reduce the upfront financial commitment but give a prospect an idea of what they could have available with a quick turnaround.
Seckman initially suggested such a facility could go on the 64-acre Northwest Georgia Industrial Park property owned by the Gordon-Floyd County Joint Development Authority; however, Doc Kibler suggested using a 52-acre tract the authority owns near Lowe’s Regional Distribution Center might be a better alternative.
County Commission chairman Rhonda Wallace said putting such a facility in the North Floyd Industrial Park near Lowe’s might also bring additional prospects to the 100-acre tract at the northwest corner of the intersection of Georgia highways 53 and 140. She pointed out if that property is not sold by the end of 2018, the county would have to pay close to $800,000 a year through 2025, according to Floyd County Finance Director Susie Gass.
The 100-acre site and the larger North Floyd Industrial Park property were financed with bonds backed by Floyd County. The idea was to pay those bonds using 2009 SPLOST money until the property was sold. The SPLOST funds will run out next year, so the county will be on the hook for the payments if the land isn’t sold.