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City ready to seek hotel developer for mill site

Mills River Business

German manufacturer bringing 46 jobs to Mills River

MILLS RIVER — A German company that makes specialty nonwoven material used in many technical applications will begin hiring 46 employees in late 2017 and will begin operations in mid-2018, the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development announced. Norafin Industries announced plans to build their first North American manufacturing facilityon a 14-acre site on School House in Mills Road, adding to the community's run of new plant openings over the past several years. Norafin will invest $18.1 million on the 75,000-square-foot plant. The establishment of a North American manufacturing facility will allow Norafin to better serve existing clients, penetrate new markets, and provide a solid platform for continued future growth, the partnership said. The company has maintained a sales presence in Asheville over the past decade. Norafin was established in 1980 in East Germany, making Mildenau, Germany their headquarters since 1997. Norafin is a leading manufacturer of specialty spunlace nonwovens used in many technical applications. One such application is heat and flame resistance barriers used in protective apparel for firefighters. “When you see the guys going out and attacking the fire, those suits often contain 2-3 layers of Norafin product,” stated André Lang, President of Norafin. Other applications serving industrial, medical, and filtration markets require different, but equally as demanding, performance criteria. The company began their search for a North American location in March 2016. They explored sites throughout western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina before settling on the land in the farm community. “We learned that this site reminds them of their home in the Saxony region of Germany — the mountains, the valley and the community,” shared Henderson County Commission Chairman Tommy Thompson. The company plans to start site work in early 2017, which will be followed by vertical construction. By late 2017, the company will begin hiring, with production expected to begin by mid-2018. “We are grateful, as always, to have our community and state supporting quality jobs in Henderson County. The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina went above and beyond to help quantify our cost advantage, which pairs well with our unparalleled quality of life,” said Will Buie, Chair of the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development.   Read Story »

Henderson County Business

Ask Matt ... about the right site for a hotel

A boutique hotel? After hearing from the UNC consulting group supporting a 130-room “boutique” hotel on the Grey Hosiery Mill site, I started thinking like the old planning hack I was some years ago. The mill site is a two-block uphill hike to Main Street and you have to cross the King Street “Interceptor.” There is little room for a streetscape. Hotel guests would look down on a jail, an impound lot, warehouses and the back side of buildings. Not stuff that spells boutique. Let’s be fair. We all know that location drives real estate but there is new thinking out now that says “invest in what’s hot.” But just how hot is the neighborhood between North Grove and the railroad tracks and if it’s not hot, can the city light the fire?To support their claim that a boutique hotel could make it on the Mill site the consultants looked at four towns they deemed comparable. So with the super powers afforded me by Google Maps, I swooped down on each town to see for myself.Staunton, Va., has a nice downtown with narrow streets. The majestic Stonewall Jackson Hotel has 124 rooms and a conference center. It’s two blocks from a commercial strip and two blocks from Mary Baldwin University. No busy streets to cross.Beaufort, S.C., is a dandy little historic town on the Harbor River. They have a few B&Bs on palmetto-lined streets and a 43-room chain hotel across from a marina plus a smaller hotel billed as “romantic.”Blowing Rock is a charming old mountainside resort town with a dozen small inns and B&Bs in walking distance from shops and eateries. Nice town but it feels more like Saluda than Hendersonville, without the railroad.New Bern has a downtown “area” not a strip. The two upscale hotels combine for 169 rooms and overlook the waterfront where boaters can dock. In between is a convention center and two blocks away is the historic Tryon Palace, a big tourist attraction.The consultants looked at four hot spots and concluded that since downtown room rates were significantly higher than at their counterpart highway hotels, a 130-room hotel on the Mill site could make it. I’m not buying that. Not without a river, a marina, a college, or a tree-lined mountain top. And let’s not kid ourselves, our Mill building neighborhood is anything but romantic. Anyone who books rooms online can hit the map button and see.Yet we do need downtown accommodations. The best sites with the best views should be between King and Church — not at the bottom of the hill. I easily found four suitable locations all fronting on Main Street. Sure, they would have to combine some properties or remove some buildings but isn’t that exactly what Publix just did? Do we really need 130 rooms? The Inn on Church does well with its 21.Finally, what to do with the Mill building? Bulldoze it. The highest and best use of the square block is an arts and residential district. Craft a smart plan for neighborhood revitalization and link it to Seventh Avenue. Then and only then will the area catch fire.  * * * * * Following 10 years in the city manager profession, Matt Matteson served as Henderson County's planning director from 1989 to 1999. He holds a certificate from the American Institute of Certified Planners.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Atha Plaza building moving to Sugarloaf Road

The steel bones of a retail building removed from Atha Plaza may get new life at a commercial area on Sugarload Road.Atha Plaza owner Larry Baber is seeking permission from the Hendersonville City Council to re-erect the steel for a new 3,150-square-foot building at a 4.9-acre light industrial site on Sugarloaf Road at Waddell Drive in the city’s extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction. Although the current commercial zoning allows the use, Baber needed to amend a special use permit to allow the additional building. The council approved it Thursday night.“I have plenty of room, I have plenty of parking, I have plenty of open space, I have plenty of sewer,” Baber said. “I don’t know why anyone would object to it.”Served by city water and an on-site septic system, the Sugarloaf Commercial Center currently has five buildings in commercial, retail and office use. Baber’s site plan shows 127 parking space, eight more than the code requires. The Atha Plaza building next to the El Paso restaurant was one of several structures contractors took down to make way for the new Publix on Greenville Highway at White Street.   Read Story »

Henderson County Business

Horse Shoe Farm development advances

Plans for a 220-unit development at Horse Shoe Farm took a step toward reality when the Henderson County Planning Board recommended that the Board of Commissioners rezone the 85-acre site.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

New owner of Carriage Park lots to resume development (2)

Arendale Holdings, the new owner of the remaining developable land in Carriage Park, plans to develop improved lots after repairing erosion damage that resulted in a violation order from Henderson County.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (100)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning. You'll read how a boundary dispute that goes back 281 years has ensnarled a Travelers Rest homeowner who is fighting paying Henderson County property taxes on his $2 million home.  You'll read all the food and dining out news, from a move across town by a popular pizzeria to a new gourmet cupcake and cookie bakery downtown. And you'll find the popular Ask Matt, answering questions on everyone's mind. Join the crowd that's causing record single-copy sales and leading to growth week over week for going-on five years. Here's where to pick up a Lightning. • Hendersonville Lightning Office, 1111 Asheville Hwy• Pop's Diner, 5 Points, North Main Street• Triangle Stop, 701 North Main Street• The 500 block of North Main Street(First Citizens Bank / Mast Gen. Store)• Black Bear Coffee Co., Main Street• The 300 block of North Main Street(McFarland's Bakery / Mike's on Main). Pardee Hospital in the lobby. Flat Rock Playhouse, downtown(100 block of South Main Street) Southside Hendersonville(Spartanburg Highway)• Hairstyles by Charlene, Joel Wright Drive• McDonald's, Spartanburg Highway• Norm's Minit Mart, Spartanburg Highway• Hendersonville Co-op• Burger King/BP, Spartanburg HighwayIngles Supermarket Southside Hendersonville(Greenville Highway)Carolina Ace HardwareWhitley Drug Store Flat Rock/East Flat Rock• Flat Rock Post Office• Flat Rock Bakery• Zirconia Post Office• East Flat Rock Post Office• Orr's Family Restaurant, Spartanburg Hwy• Energy Mart Exxon, Upward Road & I-26• Triangle Stop, 754 Upward Road & I-26Village Café and Pub Hendersonville(Kanuga Road)• Hot Dog World, Kanuga Road• Mr. Pete's Market, Kanuga Road• Norm's Minit Mart, Kanuga Road Hendersonville(Fifth Avenue)Hendersonville Post officeFifth Aenue Shell Laurel Park• YMCA H'ville, Sixth Ave & Oak Str• Laurel Park Village, Rite-Aid.• Energy Mart Exxon, Brevard Road at Daniel DriveDixie Diner, Brevard Road Highway 64(Brevard Road)• Horse Shoe Post Office• Mr. Pete's Market, Etowah, Hwy 64-W• Blue Ridge Pizza, Etowah, Hwy 64-W• Etowah Shopping Center, Etowah Highway 191(Haywood Road)• Joey's New York Bagels, Hwy 191• One-Stop Store #8, Haywood Road (Hwy 191)• Dollar General, Hwy 191 & Mountain Road Mills River• Triangle Stop, 4197 Haywood Road, Mills River• Mills River Family Restaurant. Food LionIngles Eastside Hendersonville and Four Seasons Boulevard• Norm's Minit Mart, Dana Road• Fatz Cafe, Dana Road & Four Seasons Blvd• Grocery Outlet, off Four Seasons Boulevard• McDonald's, Four Seasons Boulevard• Energy Mart Exxon, Four Seasons BoulevardMustang Cafe Highway 64 East(Chimney Rock Highway)• Triangle Stop, 2545 Chimney Rock Road, Hwy 64-E• Mr. Pete's Market, East, Hwy 64-E • Griffin's Store, Edneyville, Hwy 64-E• Edneyville Post Office. Griffins Store, EdneyvilleShell station, 64 East and Sugarloaf RoadIngles, Howard Gap RoadMoose Cafe Highway 25 North(Asheville Highway)• The Ugly Mug Coffee Shop, Hwy 25-N• Triangle Stop, Hwy 25-N, Balfour• Mountain Home Post Office• Fletcher Post OfficeInglesNaples Post OfficeTravel Plaza, US 25 and I-26 Southern & Eastern Henderson County, Polk County• Dana Post Office• Rosco's Grocery, Green River• Saluda Post Office• Triangle Stop, 1487 Ozone Road, SaludaAll Henderson County Ingles StoresAll Henderson County Post Offices   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

Hamlin loses Carriage Park property to foreclosure

Dale Hamlin, the Carriage Park developer who tried to stall a foreclosure with two 11th hour bankruptcy filings, has lost his last remaining property in the subdivision he created.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Business

City drops impact fees after NC court ruling

The city of Hendersonville has dropped impact fees it imposed on new development following a state Supreme Court that struck down similar charges in the Piedmont town of Carthage. The loss system development charges will cost the city of Hendersonville roughly $518,000 a year.   Read Story »

Henderson County Business

$1M grant will help maker of GO campers expand

Transylvania County received a $1 million Golden Leaf Foundation to construct a 50,000-square-foot light industrial building on Ecusta Road for outdoor gear manufacturer SylvanSport, which has seen huge sales growth of its GO camping trailers.    Read Story »

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