Sale of shell building being considered at Commissioner's meeting

A resolution in consideration of an Economic Development Agreement and Purchase Agreement for the sale of Lenoir County Shell Building #3 and Associated Land is a line item on the agenda for the Commissioner’s meeting on Monday.

“If approved by the Commissioners, working together to provide a local business the opportunity to expand while hiring additional employees as well as increasing Lenoir County tax values is a win/win for the business and Lenoir County,” said Chairman Linda Rouse Sutton.

In an effort to woo manufacturers to industrial parks, shell buildings are often used as marketing tools in order to fit the needs of incoming clients. The building in question has been available for at least three years. The sale of the shell building will allow the county to free up access to financial reserves.

“We’re going to have a $1-2 million revenue shortfall, and this may last for a couple of years, and it will be helpful $1-2 million dollars to put back in to the bank. We’re going to borrow from our general funds to balance this year’s budget,” said Commissioner J. Mac Daughety. “It would be nice to have this money sitting on the sidelines in case of a hurricane or something comes up.”

The sell of this building comes on the heels of Lenox China’s announcement that it’s closing their Kinston facility. Scout LLC, the parent company of Southern Vinyl, had initially put in bids that were rejected for the shell building, but eventually, appear to have reached an amount the county could accept.

“They are very interested in building here, and contributing to this community,” said Daughety.

The item will be brought up at the Commissioner’s Meeting today.