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Fortune-50 health care distribution company could soon select Caroline County or Spotsylvania County to build a new warehouse Date published: 5/1/2010
By DAN TELVOCK Spotsylvania's economic development director Russell Seymour said the county is still in the running to land a Fortune-50 health care distribution company with 190 new jobs. Sources familiar with the secret plans called "Project Stonewall" said recently that the company is favoring a site in Caroline County, chiefly because land costs are significantly cheaper. A Fortune-50 company has shown interest in the Carmel Church area of Caroline off Interstate 95. Caroline County Economic Development Director Gary Wilson declined to elaborate on the proposal. However, he said that he has not been told that his county was successful in luring such a company. Seymour said the brokers for the unnamed company told him its officials are narrowing down potential sites. He confirmed that Spotsylvania is in competition with Caroline for the business. "We have not been told we are out of it," he said. The undisclosed company has shown interest in about 18 acres in the 95 Commerce Business Park off the U.S. 17 Bypass. Brothers Michael and Danny Trivett, who own Trivett's Furniture in Spotsylvania, own the land. Their furniture company continues to grow and they recently opened a store in Loudoun County. Michael Trivett said he signed a nondisclosure agreement so he could not speak about any party that might be interested in his land. The price difference in industrial land in Caroline and Spotsylvania counties was said to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, Verizon recently purchased about 6 acres in Spotsylvania and paid $217,000 an acre. In Caroline County, industrial land can be purchased for less than $100,000 an acre. Michael Trivett said a design was completed for a 300,000-square-foot distribution center on the 18 acres. The county has already approved the design plans, he said. He has not requested a building permit. "We have a turnkey set of plans ready to go and we could start building on that today," he said. The 18 acres is not on the market now, he said. If it were, he estimated that he would ask for an amount per acre similar to that of the Verizon deal, $217,000 an acre.
blue collar jobs? $900K in taxes? Maybe spotsy should pass to Caroline - we gots warehouses already - and big boxes.
of commercial land to make it more competitive to
Caroline?
I don't think this is primarily about taxes but about the cost
of land.
I do agree with those who say that treating businesses as a
primary source of tax revenue is shortsighted if it results in
convincing businesses to go elsewhere.
If the price of land is higher and the taxes are higher and
there is a perception that "business friendly" is more a PR
claim and not county practice.. then don't whine about
losing business prospects.
Strategically, Caroline County would have better access to I-95, north and south, as well as being able to lauch their distribution of products, north, south, EAST and west from the intersection of Rt 2 and Rt 17 and still serve Regional demand for health care communities Silver and Cosner have built or are building at tax payer expense. Since TRICORD ownes major pieces of land, to be developed on Rt 2 and Rt 17, with a projected train station built on Rt 17 by Spotsy...Caroline County is the best buy.
huh?
idiot.
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