Construction of $2 million shell building to get underway

Significant construction of a $2 million shell building at the Richmond County Highway 74 Industrial Park will soon get underway.

During Tuesday’s Richmond County Commission meeting, County Manager Bryan Land said building construction should get underway soon as contractors put the finishing touches on groundwork for the future facility.

“Our 40,000 square foot shell building, which we refer to as shell building no. 6, on the [Highway 74 Bypass Industrial Park] is progressing well. All of the site grading and erosion control is complete,” Land said.

Land said the building itself should arrive in the next six weeks while pouring the facility’s concrete floor should soon get underway. He hopes to have the building complete sometime in December.

“At that point, steel erection will begin and the building will begin to take shape. Final completion is slated for December of this year,” Land said.

As previously reported by the Daily Journal, last month Commissioners approved funding the $2 million project as part of an agreement with Pee Dee Electric, who facilitated the loan through a federal program. As part of the program, the county would finance the project over 10 years at no interest with the option of differing payments for up to 24 months.

While speaking with the Daily Journal last month, Richmond County Economic Development Director Martie Butler said the shell building at the industrial park would benefit economic development in Richmond County by attracting outside manufacturers to either relocate to Richmond County or establish themselves in Richmond County. With a building already in place, and not having to spend time to renovate an existing building or go out of pocket to construct a building, companies may put Richmond County higher on their list of potential suitors.

“Having product available is key in economic development. If you do not have any product, then you’re more than likely not going to have any new business or growth. We’ve had existing industries expand into our shell buildings and new businesses move into our shell buildings. We have a mixed bag … We’ve been at this for a while. It’s been a pretty good little program for us,” Butler said.

Land hopes whoever moves into that facility becomes one of many industrial success stories in Richmond County. While presenting the budget last month, Land said nearly all local manufacturers in the county experienced growth.

“We saw several projects come to fruition. Many more prospective new clients visited Richmond County … Nearly all of our industries experience organic growth over the last year, which mirrors that of a strong economy,” Land said. “Most have incrementally increased their jobs and investment throughout the year. Martie Butler, our economic developer and management analyst, and I are cautiously optimistic about what we see in the future as far as economic development. We are both looking forward to a strong 2024-2025 year.”

This will be the sixth building constructed as part of Richmond County’s shell-building program.

“This is a very successful program we’ve had to attract future manufacturers,” said Jeff Smart, chairman of the Richmond County Commission, shortly after approving the federal loan agreement last month.