November 18, 2008
Content Editor
Lenoir County Economic Development department’s Cindy Johnson and Nita Lee unveil the rendering of the Shell Building Number 3 on Tuesday during the groundbreaking ceremony on Enterprise Boulevard.
Cold temperatures, a bitterly frigid wind and sporadic snow flurries couldn’t keep Kinston’s movers and shakers from moving and shaking some dirt Tuesday afternoon.
About three dozen of Kinston and Lenoir County’s government, educational and business leaders met at the intersection of Enterprise Boulevard and Smithfield Way for the groundbreaking ceremony of a “shell” building in the county.
The 40,000-square foot structure will feature 30-foot high ceilings and is the third-such building in the county that will be used to attract a company to Kinston. Plans for the building were formulated in January 2006.
“Basically, its walls with an unfinished floor, since we don’t know what the prospective company will need,” Lenoir County Economic Development Director Mark Pope said. “It is essentially a shell of a building that features expandability for future companies. The good thing is that it can go from 40,000 to 160,000 square feet. We’re hoping that is what it is going to do.”
Some of the dignitaries on hand for the ceremony – complete with golden shovels – included Kinston Mayor Buddy Ritch, members of the Kinston City Council and Lenoir County Commission and officials from Lenoir Community College.
All were excited about the $1.5 million building that will be finished in 150 days.
“This is a huge asset to Lenoir County,” LCC President Dr. Brantley Briley said. “This is a great day for Lenoir County.”
Kinston City Councilman Robbie Swinson said, “This is very important to the economic development of Kinston. When we have industries coming here, if they need a building, we have one. This is a good thing.”
Ritch, who said the city will provide water and sewer to the shell building, agreed with Swinson’s assessment of the project.
“If you don’t have this building, you don’t have any inventory,” Ritch said. “You have to have a shell building that is expandable into a larger building to fit the needs of clients.”
After an explosion destroyed its previous building in 2002, West Pharmaceuticals moved into the second shell building on U.S. 70 West. The first shell building, on Dobbs Farm Road, has housed Lenox China since the 1980s.
Pope’s office borrowed money from the N.C. Eastern Region that the county collected off license tags with GTP on them.
Before the first shovel full of dirt was turned, Pope said there have already been calls about the building.
“We’ve had some interest in the building,” Pope said. “When we started this process in January 2006, we started getting calls asking, ‘What are you doing with this’ and ‘Where are you going to put it?’ Those calls have continued throughout this process.
“Now that we’ve broken dirt and we start getting some walls up, we’ll take that final step and get some company signed up.”
Pope lauded the relationship between the city of Kinston and Lenoir County for the building.
“This was a team effort,” Pope said. “It took a lot of folks. The partnership and teamwork between the city and county continues to grow. We’re excited about this because we have such a good team.”
Tuesday’s ceremony was something Ritch said he wouldn’t miss – despite the cold weather.
“I’m tickled to death with what we’re having here,” Ritch said. “Cold or not cold, this means a lot to Kinston and Lenoir County.”
Bryan C. Hanks can be reached at (252) 559-1074 or at bhanks@freedomenc.com.