Trivium Corporate Center officially breaks ground

Twenty golden shovels plunged into the earth Wednesday afternoon, as the City of Hickory, Catawba County, and the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) celebrated the start of construction for Trivium Corporate Center during an official ground breaking ceremony.  The historic ground breaking also marks the beginning of construction on the first of four City of Hickory bond projects.

Trivium Corporate Center is a 270-acre Class A business park, located between Robinwood Road and Startown Road, which is being jointly developed by the City of Hickory, Catawba County, and the EDC.  Formerly known as Park 1764, Trivium Corporate Center is zoned for office and light industrial, and will be marketed by the EDC as an ideal location for corporate headquarters and advanced manufacturing, due to its convenient location.

Scott Millar, President of the EDC, opened the ceremony with an interesting recount of the property's long history and economic contributions as a dairy farm.  “This property was granted by the British Crown to the owners in 1764…Catawba County’s first settlers were involved in this piece of property,” said Millar.  “In 2011, we began having conversations with the Lutz family to develop the property into a business park to create job opportunities and move into the next phase of this piece of property’s importance.  That new chapter begins today.”

Hickory Mayor Hank Guess followed Millar, welcoming everyone in attendance and thanking the community leaders involved in the project.  “In early 2012, the City of Hickory staff and Council recognized that a plan was necessary to regenerate the Hickory Metro area and bring in new jobs and add residents to stimulate our local economy.  Since that time, numerous meetings have been held, and many residents have been involved in discussions, which ultimately led to a strategy to create four major projects, of which one was to develop a Class A advanced business park.  If you fast forward to today, we are standing on a 270+ acre site that is ready for new tenants, which is now known as Trivium Corporate Center.” 

“It is our intent, along with our partners and Catawba County, to develop a business park compatible with the surrounding community and to promote a harmonious development for job creation for our Hickory and Catawba County citizens.  Of course, none of this would be possible without the cooperation and partnership of the Lutz family, so on behalf of the City of Hickory, I would like to personally thank the entire family of the Dutch Dairy Farms,” added Mayor Guess.

Randy Isenhower, Chair of the Catawba County Board of Commissioners, then addressed those in attendance, stating, “The Lutz family, for generations, through their innovative efforts, ran a successful dairy farm on this property.  Through continued collaborative and innovative efforts, we will continue to see great success on this property.  Catawba County is dedicated, along with our municipal partners, to create an environment that fosters good economic development.  [Trivium Corporate Center] will be a tool that we will have to create jobs and economic opportunities for our current and future citizens.”

Additional comments were offered by representatives from the Offices of U.S. Senator Richard Burr and U.S. Senator Thom Tillis.  James Estes, regional representative from the Office of U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, presented Mayor Guess with an American flag, which has flown over the Capitol, to display at Trivium Corporate Center.

Community leaders, as well as the Lutz family, then took turns shoveling dirt for the ceremonious ground breaking. 

The Trivium Corporate Board, Catawba County Commissioners, Hickory City Council, and EDC extend special thanks to the Congressional Delegation, State Representatives, the citizens of Hickory, and Catawba County residents for their support of this project.

For more information about Trivium Corporate Center, please call (828) 267-1564 or visit www.triviumcorporatecenter.com.