Business

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Construction, pay raise, help for startups

By Bill Moss, Published: January 7, 2015

Housing starts and new commercial projects fell during the first 11 months of 2014 compared to the same period of 2013 but renovation work and additions nudged up the value of construction by 5.7 percent, the Henderson County Inspections Department reported.

Contractors pulled permits for 326 homes or apartments in the first 11 months, down 27.2 percent from the comparable 2013 period. New commercial jobs totaled 49, down 18 percent. Residential additions and remodeling work, up 21.7 percent, and commercial additions and remodeling, up 21.2 percent, made up for decline in new construction.
Total value of new residential construction rose to $78.3 million, up 6.2 percent, while the value of new commercial construction reached $32 million, for a 4.4 percent gain. Residential remodeling, valued at $18.4 million for the 11-month period, was up 35.5 percent. Commercial renovations came in at $17.8 million, a decline of 19.3 percent.

County raise cost $816,000

If shops and restaurants saw an uptick in Christmas shopping, they might thank Henderson County for having a small part.
The Board of Commissioners on Dec. 5 voted unanimously to grant fulltime employees a bonus of $1,000. The expenditure was possible, commissioners declared, because the county has increased its fund balance by $4.5 million over the past four years by controlling spending and earning higher than projected revenue. The final number is in. The raise cost the county's treasury $816,208. During its regular meeting on Monday, commissioners transferred that amount to payroll to cover the cost of the year-end bonuses, which were paid two weeks before Christmas.

Clean Streak expands to Myrtle Beach

Mills River-based Clean Streak Inc. is expanding to Myrtle Beach, S.C., after 15 years of growth in Western North Carolina.
Owners Horace and Susan Adell plan to duplicate the process on the coast that has proved successful in the mountains, they said in a news release.
"We knew we wanted to grow," said Adell. "We were looking in Florida when the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce encouraged us to move there. 'We have nothing like your business here,' they told us."
The couple plans to shuttle back and forth to run both locations. "We have 35 employees in Mills River, and our teams work very well together," Adell said. "Everyone knows what they have to do."
In Myrtle Beach the company plans to hire 10–12 new team members including managers. Clean Streak is a Green Certified Business and a member of both the Green Business Bureau and the International Sanitary Supply Association.

Startups can receive training on expansion

Small startups that would like help with growth strategies, connecting to capital and networking have until Jan. 15 to apply for a specialized training offered by Advantage West.
A five-year $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration will enable 150 companies in Western North Carolina to receive the support to grow and add jobs.
Called ScaleUp WNC, the competitive program provides an intensive six-week education curriculum twice a year. Businesses must be based in Western North Carolina, have annual revenues between $150,000 and $750,000, have at least one full-time employee and have identified opportunities for business expansion.
Each cohort, consisting of 15 business executives, will also receive one-on-one management support, assistance in connecting with growth capital, and the opportunity to strengthen connections and networks.
Applications are being accepted through Jan. 15 for the first cohort, which will start in late February. For more information visit ScaleUpWNC.

Podiatrist joins Park Ridge clinic

Podiatrist Pamela Stover, D.P.M., has joined Park Ridge Health Wound. Dr. Stover has been providing care in the region with Hendersonville Podiatry, an affiliate of the North Carolina Podiatric Physician and Surgeon's Group, since 2010.
Dr. Stover completed the podiatric medicine and surgery program at Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla., in 2007, and received post-graduate training at the V.A. Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio. She is a member of the American Podiatric Medical Association and the North Carolina Foot and Ankle Society. She has served as co-chair of the NCPPSG's Peer Review Committee and chair of the NCPPSG's Marketing Committee since 2013.
Park Ridge Health Wound Care is located at 50 Hospital Drive, Suite 1B, in Hendersonville. For information call 828.650.6822.