A $30 million investment: 3 companies eye expansion in budding New Hanover business park

Business is flocking to Blue Clay Business Park in northern New Hanover County.

New Hanover leaders greenlighted the bid process for two new land sales in the budding business park on Monday. Meanwhile, a third company is nearing a closing date on another parcel.

The business park, an effort from New Hanover County, is situated on approximately 120 acres at 4101 Blue Clay Road near Castle Hayne. The area is home to Cape Fear Community College’s North Campus, several housing developments and the New Hanover County jail.

Starting in 2018, county leaders began working with Wilmington Business Development, a local economic development group, to create a master plan, feasibility study and preliminary engineering report for what is the first business park owned by New Hanover County.

The project is, in part, modeled on the success of Pender Commerce Park, a county-owned business park on U.S. 421 that’s seen success in bringing businesses and jobs to nearby Pender County.

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Here are the three companies bidding on sites in the new business park:

Francini Inc.

Francini Inc., the first company to buy inside the business park, is an importer and distributor of both natural and engineered stone products. The company is based in southern California but has showrooms across the country, including a location in Wilmington.

Francini will purchase 6.25 acres along Blue Clay Road for $250,000, a cost of $40,000 per acre.

The contract also gives the company the option to buy an additional 7.06 acres in the business park within the next four years at the same price per acre. The company’s decision on that additional buy will likely depend on market trends, said Scott Satterfield, chief executive officer of Wilmington Business Development.

In the short-term, the company plans to build a 100,000-square-foot building to serve as a warehouse space for imported materials and as a showroom. The project would represent a $10 million investment in the park and has the potential to generate “dozens” of jobs, Satterfield said.

A lease with Francini was unanimously approved by the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners in February. The company is completing due diligence on the contract, but Satterfield said he expects Francini to close on the site next month.

Coastal Millwork Supply and Risley Padula

Sister companies Coastal Millwork Supply and Risley Padula are looking to expand their operations with a move to Blue Clay Business Park.

Since its founding in 1998, Risley Padula has supplied and installed interior trim throughout the Cape Fear region. Coastal Millwork Supply manufactures a range of products from custom doors and cabinets to closet systems. Both companies are based out of a building along South 13th Street in Wilmington.

“They’ve outgrown their current space and as they look to continue to grow business there is a need for expansion,” Satterfield said.

The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners approved a sale Monday of 5.5 acres in the business park for  $233,750 or a cost of $ 42,500 per acre. The companies have plans to invest a combined $7.5 million in the site with the construction of 55,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 7,000 square feet of office space.

There’s the potential for another $3 million expansion in the future with another 15,000-square-foot expansion. The planned expansion would add 25 jobs to the companies’ current 50-person operation.

FFT Cabinetry

FFT is an established cabinet maker with more than 20 years of experience working in the Wilmington region. The company has outgrown its current 10,000-square-foot facility and is in “dire need for expansion,” Satterfield said.

The company has bid $213,350 for a 5.02-acre lot at Blue Clay Business Park, a cost of $42,500 per acre.

FFT has plans to invest between $5 million to $7.5 million in the site to build a 50,000-square-foot facility that would include space for manufacturing along with offices and a showroom. The company also has long-term plans to add another 25,000-square-foot expansion to the facility.

The planned growth would add 20 new employees to the company’s current 10 employee roster.

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What’s next for the park?

All three planned investments in the New Hanover County business park are contingent on the construction of water and sewer infrastructure in the area, Satterfield said.

New Hanover County has faced delays during the design process of bringing sewer and water to the site due to changing standards from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The county is currently bidding out the project and expects to complete sewer and water connections to the site in the first quarter of 2024, according to Alex Riley, New Hanover County’s communications and outreach coordinator.

The bids from Coastal Millwork Supply, Risley Padula and FFT Cabinetry will all go through the 10-day upset bid process, which is required for all county-owned property sales, before being formally accepted.

Once contracts are executed, the business park will still have 40 acres of buildable land, Satterfield said, which is serviced by rail.

“We’re seeing ongoing interest in this piece by our clients and prospects,” he said.

So far, plans from the three companies represent a $30 million investment in New Hanover County, more than 100 jobs within the business park and more than 350,000 square feet of planned industrial space, according to Satterfield.

Reporter Emma Dill can be reached at edill@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington companies moving to Blue Clay Business Park