Developer offers to buy industrial park parcel, build Frito-Lay distribution facility

Published 6:33 pm Monday, March 7, 2022

SALISBURY — The Rowan County Board of Commissioners on Monday received an offer from a developer for a parcel of property in Summit Corporate Center.

Summit Corporate Center is a 612-acre industrial park located near Interstate 85 and Julian Road. Tenants at the center include Agility Fuel Systems, Schneider Electric and the Rowan Summit Shopping Center, which includes Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hobby Lobby, Texas Roadhouse and others.

Dallas-based Dkota Investments, Inc. submitted an offer of $153,000 for a 3.8-acre parcel on Corporate Center Drive. The offer is at the appraised value of the land. The developer plans to build a facility on the vacant lot that will be leased to Frito-Lay, which will use the facility to distribute its products throughout Rowan County.

“The corporate center has all the requirements that Frito-Lay has for their newer facilities,” said Russell Leitch, president of Dkota Investments. “It has close access to the highway and the business park itself has good ingress and egress.”

The facility will be approximately 9,350-square-feet, including 6,869-square-feet of warehouse space and 2,481-square-feet of office space, according to a preliminary site plan. The parcel is currently wooded and would need to be cleared and graded before construction. Leitch said the project will likely generate new jobs.

Leitch said he would like to have the facility completed by the first quarter of 2023.

By accepting the offer, the Rowan County Board of Commissioners has initiated an upset bid process. Once a 5% deposit of the total offer is received, the county will advertise the accepted bid via public notice. If an upset bid is not received within 10 days of the notice being posted, the sale will move forward. An upset bid must raise the advertised bid 10% of the first $1,000 and 5% of the remainder. In this case, an upset bid would be at least $160,700.

In other meeting business:

• Commissioners unanimously approved an amendment to a rezoning application for a mini-warehouse storage facility along Old Beatty Ford Road. Last year, the board approved a request from Raymond McMillan Jr. on behalf of West Avenue Holdings to rezone several acres of land at the 1000 block of Old Beatty Ford Road from rural agricultural to commercial, business, industrial.

Since then, West Avenue Holdings has amended its site plan to accommodate a stream on the property. The new site plan shows a 404-unit storage facility with an entrance extending from Bostian Road. The storage units will cover about 2 acres of the total 6-acre property, which comprises two tax parcels.

• Commissioners reclassified the position of temporary COVID-19 accounting analyst to director of grants administration and governmental relations effective this fiscal year. The position will provide full-cycle administration of increased state and federal grant opportunities.

• Commissioners approved a final settlement agreement between Rowan County Health Department, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and a Rowan County family. The Marshes claimed the county issued an improper permit for a wastewater system at their home, which resulted in the family having to install a new wastewater system at a different location at the site. The Marshes are set to receive $15,350 in the settlement, half of which will be paid by Rowan County. The remaining half will be paid by NCDHHS.

• Commissioners approved the use of an additional $59,825 in Home and Community Care Block Grant funding for older adults for the Rufty-Holmes Senior Center for the remainder of the fiscal year.

• The board gave permission to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office to donate dozens of surplus stun guns to local law enforcement agencies, including the Rockwell Police Department, Cleveland Police Department and Spencer Police Department. The Sheriff’s Office recently purchased new stun guns and no longer needs the old models.

• Commissioners gave approval for Locke Township Fire Department to purchase a pumper truck for $735,093. The board’s approval does not mean the county will have any financial obligations related to the purchase of the truck.

About Ben Stansell

Ben Stansell covers business, county government and more for the Salisbury Post. He joined the staff in August 2020 after graduating from the University of Alabama. Email him at ben.stansell@salisburypost.com.

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