shovel-ready site in eastern Guilford County
that economic development officials believe will help Greensboro
secure top-tier projects now passing it by.
Carroll is seeking at least $4 million of economic development bond funds
to help pay for grading and the extension of city services
to a 100-acre site at Knox Road and Interstate 40.
Carroll and city staff are still working out the particulars,
including whether the funds will be solely a grant
or require a portion to be repaid by Carroll to the city,
but a proposal could go before the Greensboro City Council as early as next month.
The project would likely use the remainder of $10 million of bond funds
approved by voters in 2006
for the acquisition or development of land for industrial parks and projects.
“What we do not have today are shovel-ready sites, and that is big,” said Carroll,
president of The Carroll Cos.
“We are unprepared for large job creators coming to the area
that want to build a new plant or new manufacturing facilities.”
Right now, there is no company waiting in the wings for the site
to be ready and construction to begin.
...so far, those funds have gone solely to extending city services.
Whether the money should be used for grading, and if so,
if that money should be considered a loan,
are details of the Carroll proposal still being discussed, said Andy Scott,
Greensboro’s assistant city manager for economic development.
Councilman Zach Matheny hopes for a partnership
that includes a return of a portion of the economic development funds to the city,
such as through a loan, that could then be reinvested in similar projects in the future.
Matheny is also in favor of having Guilford County share some of the cost of preparing the site,
though he is unsure if county government would participate.
[Dan Lynch, president of the (taxpayer funded) Greensboro Economic Development Alliance
...said he has no reservations about committing the remainder of the bond funding
to develop a large-scale site rather than waiting
for several, smaller projects or holding out for a specific company.
“Those funds were sought after and approved
for site development and preparation initiatives,” Lynch said.
“That is exactly the purpose we anticipated.”
So why shouldn’t the developer who stands to profit from the use of undeveloped land
foot the bill for the acreage to be prepared?
...Funding isn’t available to developers to perform such speculative work,
according to [Andy Scott, Greensboro’s assistant city manager
for economic development]
“There’s not a lender that’s willing to do this,” Scott said.
Developers are largely unable or unwilling to carry the risk
associated from such an upfront expense, Lynch said.
“They can’t get the funding; they can’t carry the debt service,” Lynch said.
“If you can’t find a way to partner,
you’re just not putting yourself in a position to take advantage of opportunities.”
...Neither of the sites are the location selected for a second American Express data center,
which will be built on Carroll-owned land to the west at Knox and Birch Creek roads.
Both potential sites are within Carroll’s 700-acre Birch Creek Business Park,
and either could be home to a single, 1 million-square-foot building
or two or three smaller buildings of between 400,000 and 800,000 square feet, Carroll said.
...Carroll said he was approached earlier this year by a site selection consultant
looking for a location for a $2 billion investment,
and showed him sites in the Knox Road area.
“He said the site’s too green for these guys,” Carroll said.
“We were crossed off the list at that point.”
Though he can offer no guarantee
that a shovel-ready site would land a tenant within three months, six months or any set time period,
Lynch is certain that Greensboro is being overlooked because it lacks such a site.
“There are some projects out there,” Lynch said.
“There’s not a lot of projects out there of this size and scope
that are looking at our market.”
Owen Covington
Notable Roy Carroll Political Contributions:
LINDA SHAW 03/23/10 Roy Carroll II Carroll Companies Developer TREBIC MEMBER
ZACK MATHENY 10/23/09 Roy Carroll II Carroll Companies Developer TREBIC MEMBER
DIANE BELLAMY-SMALL 10/16/2007 Roy E and Vanessa Y Carroll North Carolinians for Leadership in Government TREBIC MEMBER
Kirk Perkins 5/2/2008 Roy E and Vanessa Y Carroll North Carolinians for Leadership in Government TREBIC MEMBER
Paul Gibson 5/2/2008 Roy E and Vanessa Y Carroll North Carolinians for Leadership in Government TREBIC MEMBER
ROBBIE PERKINS 10/16/2007 Roy E and Vanessa Y Carroll North Carolinians for Leadership in Government TREBIC MEMBER
SANDRA ANDERSON GROAT 10/16/2007 Roy E and Vanessa Y Carroll North Carolinians for Leadership in Government TREBIC MEMBER
TRUDY WADE 10/16/2007 Roy E and Vanessa Y Carroll North Carolinians for Leadership in Government TREBIC MEMBER
YVONNE JOHNSON 10/16/2007 Roy E and Vanessa Y Carroll North Carolinians for Leadership in Government TREBIC MEMBER
ZACK MATHENY 10/16/2007 Roy E and Vanessa Y Carroll North Carolinians for Leadership in Government TREBIC MEMBER
JIM KEE 10/27/09 Roy E. Carroll Carroll Companies Real estate development TREBIC MEMBER
ROBBIE PERKINS 10/13/09 Roy E. Carroll II Carroll Companies Developer TREBIC MEMBER
TRUDY WADE 10/23/09 Roy E. Carroll II Carroll Companies Real estate developer TREBIC MEMBER
ROBBIE PERKINS 10/22/07 Alvin C. Leonard Carroll Cos. Real estate developer TREBIC MEMBER
JIM KEE 10/27/09 Alvin C. Leonard Jr. Carroll Companies Developer TREBIC MEMBER
ROBBIE PERKINS 10/18/09 Alvin C. Leonard Jr. Alaris Homes Homebuilder
TRUDY WADE 10/23/09 Alvin C. Leonard Jr. Carroll Companies Real estate developer TREBIC MEMBER
ZACK MATHENY 10/23/09 Alvin Leonard Carroll Companies Developer TREBIC MEMBER
ZACK MATHENY 11/07/07 Alvin Leonard Carroll Companies Real estate-development TREBIC
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