December 11, 2006
by Strother Blair TBR Staff

The Interstate Centre industrial park onI-16 is just the Development Authority of Bryan County's first step tospurring industrial development

This past June, the Development Authority of Bryan County optioned a 277-acre tract of land across I-16 from its current 273-acre Interstate Centre on the northern side of the interstate. This new spread of land is capable of supporting several large industrial or business facilities, and
if the right tenant comes along, the authority says it will purchase the tract and develop it, adding roadways and other infrastructure.

The original Interstate Centre park, located off Exit 143 of I-16, already has three clients in the park or building there - Oneida, Kawasaki and Oracal.

Oneida, one of the world's leading marketers of stainless-steel flatware, is moving its East Coast distribution center from New York to the Interstate Centre Park, with the construction of a 500,000- square-foot facility that should open in the spring of 2007. The $11 million distribution center is expected to employ nearly 150 employees. Construction is underway for a second tenant, Kawasaki, which recently signed with T & R Holdings, LLC to build a 80,000-square- foot distribution center that will serve as the Kawasaki Distribution Center for the Southeastern United States. The facility is expected to open in early 2007 and will initially employ 10 people with the goal of hiring as many as 20.

Oracal, a German-based manufacturer of vinyl films and adhesive products used in advertising, is the third tenant. The firm chose the Interstate Center for the headquarters of its Western Hemisphere operations. Construction of its 200,000-square-foot manufacturing plant at the park is complete, and operations have begun; the company has already invested $42 million into the facility and has begun looking to expand further.

The Interstate Centre Park, which features a 500,000-gallon elevated water tower, an onsite water-treatment facility and fiber optics throughout, still has approximately 120 acres of developable land for listed for sale in various lot sizes.

Across U.S. Highway 280 from the Interstate Centre, the authority has partnered with developer Technology Park Atlanta to purchase approximately 500 acres, known as Interstate Centre Phase II. Currently, water and sewer are being installed on the tract, and soon Technology Park Atlanta will show this property to interested clients.

The authority believes that Bryan County is a good place to grow a business. "We're only minutes from both Interstates 95 and 16, plus we're well-connected to global markets - less than 30 minutes from a major airport and the international seaport of Savannah," is how they position the strength of their available land.