MITCHELL – Back in July, the Lawrence County Redevelopment Commission approved the construction of a 50,000-square-foot shell building in the Mitchell Industrial Park on Doc Hamilton Boulevard just off State Road 37.
The Redevelopment Commission heard the update on the plan. Mitchell has begun the due diligence step of the project, which includes plotting out the financial aspects and planning the construction timeline in a way that makes the most sense.
When completed, the shell building will serve as a potential location for an industrial business to move into the Mitchell area, bringing jobs and industry with it.
Lawrence County as a whole has been missing the chance for opportunities like this due to a lack of suitable structures with more than 40,000 square feet of available space. Often businesses have time constrictions, meaning even if Lawrence County has the space, there’s not enough time to build a whole new structure to fit their needs.
In the future, having a building that can be altered to meet the needs of any future tenant means that Lawrence County and the Mitchell area will have a leg-up on negotiations.
The building will be designed to expand to suit a tenant’s needs, with expansion allowed for an additional 150,000 feet. In practice, this allows the tenant 200,000 feet for whatever purposes they may need.
“It’s a way for communities to better themselves and kind of act as their own developer,” Shance Sizemore, the Bedford Chamber of Commerce CEO explained.
The metal building will cost $5.2 million, which includes a $100,000 allowance for soil work that can be returned to the RDC if no soil issues are encountered.
The building will have 32-foot ceilings and include four docks, one overhead door, and electric utilities. A base layer of asphalt will be added and the future building user can add the top layer for the drives and parking areas.
