Crystal Morphis, founder and CEO of Creative Economic Development Consulting, addresses the council with the study’s results. Courtesy City of Albemarle

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ALBEMARLE — At the Albemarle City Council meeting on Monday night, councilmembers were presented with the Speculative Building Feasibility Study conducted for the Albemarle Business Center.

Sponsored by ElectriCities of N.C., Inc. in partnership with the Albemarle’s Economic Development Department, the study was designed to determine if a spec building program would be successful for the ABC — a 282-acre industrial park located adjacent to N.C. 24/27 and U.S. 52 — and to present recommendations to the council.

Crystal Morphis, founder and CEO of Creative Economic Development Consulting, addressed the council with the study’s results in favor of the project, revealing that a proposed 100,000 to 200,000 square-feet concrete spec building would add up to a $8.5 million cost.

Site preparation work and other contingencies would cost around $2.5 million while the building cost is estimated at $6 million.

“That is much more expensive than it used to be a few years ago because of the escalation of construction costs and overall development costs,” Morphis said.

She explained that spec building programs are an economic development strategy to attract private sector investment and well-paying jobs because more than half of companies looking to expand prefer to move into an existing building rather than wait for one to be built.

While councilmembers were presented with the information about the spec program recommendations, no action was required at this time.

“If you don’t have quality industrial buildings available, then you do miss out on a lot of opportunities,” Morphis added. “We worked with (Albemarle EDC Director) Lindsay Almond’s office to determine that in 2024, Albemarle missed 67 opportunities to respond to requests for information from expanding companies because of the lack of quality available industrial buildings. Those missed opportunities are things that we like to track in economic development.”

She noted that the ABC is “a very appealing industrial park” and a prime candidate for a spec building program: “Think of it as an economic development strategy as one more tool that you have to market to companies.”

Construction on the center began in June 2019, following the city’s purchase of the 282-acre parcel for about $1.8 million; the center’s first build-ready pad within the park was completed in February 2024.

Per city officials, the land will be able to accommodate anything from a 20,000 square-foot facility to a million square-feet facility, with parcels from 5 acres to 121 acres.

The Albemarle City Council is set to hold its next regular meeting on Aug. 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.