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Caswell County economic development director reports outreach, site work and potential business moves
Summary
New economic development director Ken Bowman described business visits, site preparation at the Pelham Industrial Park, a potential Family Dollar replacement, and a possible building purchase that could preserve local jobs.
Ken Bowman, the county's economic development director, gave a progress report to the Caswell County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 6 detailing recent outreach to local businesses, site-preparation activity at the Pelham Industrial Park and several prospective deals.
Bowman said he has been meeting owners and visiting sites across the county since starting work. He reported meeting owners at businesses in the Pelham Industrial Park (NORAG; McCormick Insulation) and at Weatherford, where site grading is underway and footings were expected to begin the week after the meeting. Bowman said Lynch Grading is performing the site work at Weatherford and that the company is ready to hold a groundbreaking ceremony; the state wants to be involved, Bowman said.
He described exploring preparing an additional pad adjacent to a site projected for another tenant (Cherokee) so the county can market a ready-to-build pad; Bowman suggested grading interior roads and providing a visible access point to the remaining 58.9 acres to make lots marketable. He said preliminary acreage information and an estimate for road grading would be sought from the contractor already on site.
Bowman reported a closed Family Dollar building and said he has a prospective retail buyer who expects to open in January or February, and he detailed K & K Machining's recent closure and a neighboring firm, TKT Transmission, negotiating to buy the 40,000-square-foot K & K building and retain the employees as part of a relocation. Bowman said TKT has discussed internships with the local high school's automotive program.
Bowman also said he has met with Piedmont Community College and county tourism officials about agritourism, barn tours and heritage events, and that the county website needs a refresh; he recommended budgeting for a website redesign next cycle. Bowman encouraged commissioners to forward names of businesses he should meet.
Board members asked clarifying questions about pad size and acreage, current operations at TKT and the value of on-site tours. Bowman said he would coordinate site tours for commissioners and follow up with cost estimates for road and pad work. There were no formal actions on the update.
