DOTHAN, Alabama — Dothan officials have officially started work on a 100,000-square-foot speculative building in the Sam Houston Industrial Park in order to better prepare the Southeast Alabama city for industrial potential.
The structure will be built on Lot 3 of the platted industrial park at 102 Austin Court, which spans 41 acres. The new facility is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022.
The Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary, Greg Canfield, stated that having open buildings for prospects is necessary to continue to stimulate economic development. According to studies, 85 percent of organizations with projects prefer to use existing buildings rather than develop new ones.
Secretary Canfield said that “The availability of quality-sized buildings in Alabama needs to be expanded, so seeing the Dothan-Houston County area spearhead this new addition to the state’s building inventory is a big enhancement to continue Alabama’s growth in the industrial development arena”.
He said, “We commend all the state, county, city and business leaders working together to put this facility in place to create future opportunities for the Wiregrass region.”
TARGETING DEVELOPMENT
Officials from the city of Dothan, the Houston County Commission, the city’s Industrial Development Board, the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce/Grow Dothan, and others attended a groundbreaking ceremony this week to officially kick off the project.
The spec building will be a fully built shell with only a few finishing touches, such as flooring, wiring, sprinkler system, and dock/drive-in doors, depending on the prospect’s specific requirements.
In a joint statement, Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba and Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said that “This project continues to showcase the partnerships we have in our area from the local to state levels, to work collaboratively to enhance economic development progress for our area and continue to create employment opportunities for our residents”.
With 25′ by 50′ column spacing and a 32-foot eave height, the building will be expanded to accommodate another 100,000 square feet. Water, sewer, and electric service will be provided by Dothan Utilities (Alabama Municipal Electric Authority). Southeast Gas will offer natural gas service, and Troy Cable, WOW!, Spectrum, and CenturyLink will provide telecommunications.
“This approximately $4 million project would not be possible without the teamwork of many entities to develop this project to lure more manufacturing or distribution related operations into the area,” said the chairman of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce, Brad Kimbro.
He added that “Projects like this take on certain risks and there are no guarantees but based on our rich history of undertaking past speculative building projects we are convinced this is the right time and place to move ahead.”
This is the seventh speculative structure to be built in the Dothan area to stimulate economic activity, with building sizes ranging from 40,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet.
“We” have a terrific team, and we all work together creatively to focus on the needs of our area said State Rep. Dexter Grimsley.