City, county approve phase one spending for Park 1764

By LANEY RUCKSTUHL eruckstuhl@hickoryrecord.com Hickory Daily Record
Posted: Monday, March 21, 2016 7:09 pm | Updated: 10:50 am, Tue Mar 22, 2016.

HICKORY – The City of Hickory council and Catawba County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to approve over $1 million in joint spending for the initial phase of development on a business park to be built on Startown Road.

Park 1764 is a joint venture between the city and county, while the Catawba County Economic Development Commission is responsible for its planning.

The 170-acre park will be located at 2355 Startown Road, which is currently a family-owned cattle farm. Catawba EDC President Scott Millar said there are seven separate parcels of land, with five different owners in the family who are “ready to sell as soon as possible.”

The property is zoned for headquarters, offices and advanced manufacturing.

The initial phase of development – which will mainly be landscaping, water and sewer development, and construction of entrance roadways – weighs in at $1,094,770.

The city and county are splitting the costs, at $547,385 each. City of Hickory plans to use a portion of its $40 million bond money, while Catawba County will use funds previously set aside in its Economic Development Reserve, which is partially funded by the county’s sales tax.

In a meeting Monday held in the Sipe Board Room of Catawba Valley Community College, Millar presented the proposal. Both the city council and county board of commissioners voted unanimously to approve their respective expenditures.

Millar said though the property doesn’t yet have occupants locked down, the EDC has already begun to market it. He estimated that it will be marketed at a rate of approximately $60,000 to $65,000 an acre.

“It’s appealing, but it’s a little hard to see it in a raw form instead of a somewhat developed form,” Millar said.

He added that the park is aiming to be upscale and attract businesses of the like.

Now that the initial phase of development has been approved, a 300-foot entrance road to the park with berms, fencing and signage will be built off of Startown Road and landscaping will begin.

Additionally, $361,900 of the city and county funds will be used on water and sewer projects.

For more information on Park 1764, visit catawbaedc.org.