Houston County seeks more industrial development
WARNER ROBINS -- After a big breakthrough with last year's sale of its long-vacant speculative building, the Houston County Development Authority is looking for more.
The authority owns three large "greenfield" tracts, each with its own selling points, and it hopes to use the land to lure industry to the county. A greenfield tract is property without a building or infrastructure but that's ready for construction.
The tracts have all been purchased in the past few years with special purchase local option sales tax dollars.
One is 667 acres and is adjacent to the speculative building off Interstate 75 in Perry. Its selling points include proximity to both the interstate and the Perry-Houston County Airport. It was purchased in 2008 for $14.7 million.
The second tract, 877 acres on A.E. Harris Road, is considered a prime location for a large industry because it has railway access. It was purchased in 2012 for $6.26 million.
The third is 383 acres on Ga. 247 next to the Frito Lay plant. The authority bought that tract last August for $708,000. It is located near the county's new fire station, which would help trim insurance costs for any business that goes there.
Mark Byrd, chairman of the development authority, said he is optimistic the county's success with industrial recruitment will continue.
"We've developed a lot of momentum over the last few years in economic development," he said. "Our goals are to have an environment in Houston County that allows for existing industries to expand and new industries to want to come here."
Angie Gheesling, the authority's executive director, said that for many years the spec building was about all the county had to show a prospective industry. The three greenfield sites, she said, now offer multiple options for industries both large and small.
"I think that we always knew these diversified properties we had were a good idea," she said. "We, right now, are just going to work toward improving our properties."
That probably will not include adding any significant infrastructure, such as paved roads, to the properties. That's because it's hard to tell what kinds of industries might go there and how any infrastructure the authority adds might fit those needs.
Instead, Gheesling said, the aim is to improve the tracts cosmetically and to make sure the tracts are ready for construction. That includes having all the necessary environmental studies done and clearing up any other potential issues.
The state has a certification for that, which it calls Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development, or GRAD. Gheesling said she has had three prospects that were looking only at GRAD sites.
"It says that basically you are ready for development," she said. "It's telling the company that if the company goes on a piece of property and gets all these surprises that you can't see until later, you've already done all that for them."
The site at the speculative building is already GRAD certified. The authority has done all the necessary work for GRAD on the A.E. Harris Road site and now needs to get the state to sign off on it.
Sandler AG, a German textile supplier, announced in August it had chosen the speculative building for its first location in North America. It will be making an investment of $30 million and plans to hire about 140 people.
Gheesling said the sale of the building has closed, and the company should begin work on preparing it soon. She said she believes it will be in operation later this year, but hiring has not started.
Although finding an occupant for the spec building has been a priority for years, it also has a downside. The authority had long argued that although the building was vacant, it was serving a purpose in getting industries to look at the area. Gheesling said there has been a drop-off in prospect interest in the county since the spec building sold.
Considering that the spec building sat vacant since it was built in 2001, it would seem to be a tough sell to get another one built. But neither Gheesling nor Byrd would rule it out.
"Nationwide stats, 75 to 80 percent of prospects that come into the state of Georgia or any state will ask to go to a community where there is a spec building," she said. "It is a marketing tool."
Gheesling said having Sandler AG in the spec building is a big step for developing the rest of the tract. Other industries that have looked at the site have openly expressed reluctance to be the first one to go there, she said.
The authority will have its first meeting of the year Wednesday. It will have a big plus on its side with two former members now in the General Assembly. Shaw Blackmon and Larry Walker III both served on the authority before getting elected to the Legislature last year. Blackmon is now a state representative, and Walker is a state senator.
Taking their places are Joe Richardson, who works at the Mercer Engineering Research Center in Warner Robins, and Ben Hulbert, vice president of State Bank & Trust in Perry.
To contact writer Wayne Crenshaw, call 256-9725.
This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Houston County seeks more industrial development ."