Partnership launches spec building in business park

CONCORD The Nolim Group hopes the third time will be the charm as it partners with two groups to build a speculative building in the International Business Park.

The Nolim Group owns the 500-acre park, which faces the I-85 corridor. With CM Black Construction Co. and CESI Land Development Services, it has formed 390 Business Boulevard LLC. The three entities are beginning construction on the class “A” speculative industrial building at 4541 Enterprise Drive.

This is the third such building the Nolim Group has built in the park, according to Anne Johnson of CBRE, the project’s leasing agent along with Bryan Crutcher. It’s the first partnership the group has undertaken.

“There’s recently been quite a lot of new activity announced in this area,” said Johnson, noting that two other groups have announced plans for construction projects just outside or near the park. “We’re very bullish on Concord as a location.”

The project at 4541 Enterprise Drive, however, stands out as a unique concept, Johnson said.

“It is a building suited for manufacturing or distribution companies,” she said. “Most spec buildings in the region are built as warehouse buildings. This building can be leased or sold to a prospective tenant or buyer.”

Johnson said a “tremendous amount” of companies have been looking to move manufacturing locations to Concord. She cites the labor supply, quality of labor and power incentives as key factors that make Cabarrus County attractive.

“The owners of the business park are very excited about this project,” she said. “The timing is excellent and the vacancy is low. There’s going to be a great deal of interest in this building.”

The building is slated to be 88,527 square feet, but it can be built up to 141,000 square feet, Johnson said. Other options could be additional parking, dock doors, 28-foot-minimum ceiling clearance, skylights and an ESFR (Early Suppression Fast Response) sprinkler system. Another attractive option, Johnson said, is that the building can be LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

“Pretty much anything you can think of, they have designed in this building,” she said.

As for potential tenants, Johnson said, “We would anticipate someone not in the area right now, a new customer or a new division who is national or international. The park setting is also attractive, and this will be a state-of-the-art building in every possible way.”

As with any real estate deal, the three most important factors are location, location, location, and the International Business Park certainly has a desirable location.

“There are counties in rural areas that can give a company land for a building,” Johnson said. “We obviously are not able to do that, since the park is owned by a private owner. This is a nice park and a nice building. We still believe there is a lot of value in this area.”

For decades, Interstate 85 has been a prime corridor for transportation and manufacturing, and Johnson calls it “the golden road.”

Johnson said the building’s potential employees can be in downtown Charlotte in a short time and can reap the benefits of living near a major metropolitan area, with its cultural and transportation amenities.

Johnson said she would love to have a tenant in place by May, when the building is slated for completion.

“We would be pleasantly surprised if the building is leased or sold before it is finished,” she said. “The property has been graded, and the construction company is in the process of pouring the footings for the building. The walls will be going up soon.”

Still, Johnson knows finding a tenant may take longer than it has in the past.

“Everybody’s much more cautious than they used to be,” she said. “The owners are patient and have taken their time to develop this park. It’s important that it be done right. It takes a huge amount of financial commitment to make a park like this.”

For information about the building, visit www.4541enterprisedrive.com. For information about the International Business Park, visit www.internationalbusinesspark.com.