Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 21, 1995 TAG: 9502210066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
It's becoming the thing to do in Franklin County - announce a big economic development project, slap some backs, then move on to the next one.
Fleetwood Homes joined the trend Monday.
As anticipated, the company said it will build a $7.1 million expansion on a 25-acre lot in the Franklin County-Rocky Mount Industrial Park off North Main Street and next to U.S. 220. The 100,000-square-foot building will enable the manufactured-housing builder to double its output from 60 to 120 homes a week and will put 200 to 250 people to work, said Gary Clark, the company's general manager.
The company will pay an average wage of $12 an hour.
The fact that Fleetwood decided to stay in Franklin County is a testament to the county's and the town's commitment to the company, Clark said.
Fleetwood Homes, part of a national company based in California, considered several locations for the expansion - including Henry County and sites in both the Carolinas.
At least one of the non-Virginia sites came ready with road and utilities.
But Franklin County officials dug in their heels.
``Two hundred jobs at $12 an hour are important to us,'' said County Administrator Macon Sammons. ``We simply looked at it as a game we couldn't lose.''
Boundaries of several lots in the industrial park had to be adjusted, and more land purchased by the county, to make the site offered to Fleetwood more attractive.
Because Franklin County doesn't have its own economic development department, it sought help from the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership, of which it is a member.
The partnership contacted the state and got all the paperwork together for the county to tap the Governor's Economic Opportunity Fund, which provides incentive money to entice businesses and industries to locate or expand in Virginia.
Franklin County's state representatives - Republican Del. Allen Dudley and Democratic Sen. Virgil Goode, both of Rocky Mount - also threw their political weight around to make the project a reality.
In the end, $250,000 from the opportunity fund sealed the deal.
``That's what really made the difference,'' Clark said.
Robert Skunda, state secretary of commerce and trade, presented a check to Board of Supervisors Chairman Gus Forry on Monday during a press conference at the Comfort Inn in Rocky Mount.
Fleetwood will get the grant when the company makes its investment in the expansion. Fleetwood will use the state money to prepare the site for construction.
Thor Inc. of Roanoke will build the new plant. Clark said construction will begin in about two weeks, with completion set for early next year.
Fleetwood, a presence in Franklin County for 27 years, operates out of a 60,000-square-foot facility on Virginia 40 in Rocky Mount. It employs 250 workers.
Last summer, Fleetwood eliminated its second shift and cut about 40 hourly jobs.
``We were struggling at the time,'' said Clark, who took over as general manager last year. ``But we've turned things around, and I hope most of the workers we laid off will soon be back to work.''
Fleetwood's announcement was good news on top of good news for Franklin County.
Sammons said there was a synergy in the air.
Friday, it was announced that a YMCA, a county technology school and a proposed county health and human services building will be built on a 60-acre site across the road from the industrial park.
The town also is negotiating with Franklin Memorial Hospital. The hospital, owned by Carilion Health System of Roanoke, is interested in building a doctors' office facility in the new education-health care park.
Other projects announced in the past five months include:
In early October, the town and county formed a Community Revitalization Partnership task force whose job it will be to oversee improvements in downtown and other places in the county. The revitalization effort was bolstered by Rocky Mount's inclusion in the state's Main Street program, a movement geared to reviving central business districts of small cities and towns.
In mid-October, Mod-U-Kraf Homes of Rocky Mount announced it will build a 90,000-square-foot expansion, also in the town and county's industrial park.
In November, county voters approved a bond referendum that carried funding for the county technology school as well as economic development.
This month, the county was granted a provisional charter by the national YMCA organization.
``We're on a roll,'' said county Supervisor Wayne Angell. ``We're making things happen.''
by CNB