Henry County’s decade-long drought of new shell building construction will come to an end following the announced effort to erect one by 2025.
The proposed building will be the culmination of an agreement between county officials and the South Carolina-based Marlboro Development Team to construct an additional facility at the Patriot Centre Industrial Park.
“This is a win-win for our community,” County Administrator Dale Wagoner said last week. “We will be able to leverage MDT’s expertise in marketing speculative buildings and construction administration, while MDT will be able to expand their footprint into Virginia.”
This will be the first time Henry County has partnered with a private company to build and promote an industrial building. Marlboro will foot the cost of construction and maintain ownership of the building. The county will have veto power if there are issues with a company Marlboro recruits.
Based in Spartanburg, Marlboro is a real estate development firm with more than 13 million square feet of projects, including single projects that total 1 million square feet.
“Martinsville-Henry County, Virginia, has proven to embody the precise characteristics of a community we seek to establish relationships with, fostering the pursuit of advanced manufacturing through the development of market ready buildings,” said William Fleming, the company’s president and CEO.
Shell buildings are facilities versatile enough to accommodate a wide range of companies. A shell building can simplify a company’s setting-up process while sparing it from the upfront costs of constructing its own building, according to James McClain, chair of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation.
McClain said the cost of construction has gone up since the opening of Henry County’s last shell building, located at 1320 Beaver Creek Drive, in 2014. That structure is home to companies including Trinity Freight and Spring Industries Inc.
“However, shell buildings remain an essential part of our economic development strategy,” McClain said. “They provide turnkey options for businesses, allowing them to cut costs, save valuable time, and streamline their production process. This partnership with MDT will allow us to once again offer that option to prospective businesses.”
The proposed shell building will be 105,000 square feet and will stand in the Patriot Centre’s second lot, a 32-acre site with a level area totaling 25.8 acres.
Officials said the lot is future-proof and can support an expansion of the completed shell building up to an additional 400,000 square feet.
Construction is slated for 2024, with the building projected to be completed in 2025.
