Stan Suther's Real Estate and Stuff

Yesterday’s meeting of the Iredell Developer’s Council included good updates on a number of local commercial and residential property issues.  Mixed in was a pitch by the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation on behalf of Pappas Properties to try to help find a buyer for the Mooresville Mills property near downtown Mooresville.  The property includes 700,000 sq. ft. of buildings on 38 acres (only $1.7 million- $2.43/sq. ft.- what a deal!).  This property had a 100 year history as a major textile manufacturer and primary Mooresville employer.  HERE’S a recent Mooresville Tribune article about this.

Back in 1998 I was working at Duke Power, and they loaned me to the local United Way to help with the fall campaign.  I loved it since I lived in Mooresville and normally commuted to Charlotte.  One of the things I did then was attend a luncheon at the Burlington Industries Mooresville Mills plant, a big local charitable contributor, where they made great gobs of denim material.  They invited a variety of people from the Mooresville area to show off their products and tour the plant.  They told us that what they did at the plant was quite unique, and therefore made the plant a stable employer.  We even got T-shirts that read “Burlington Industries- 100 Years- We’ve Only Just Begun.”  We thought they meant that for the Mooresville plant.

Turns out that the statement on the T-shirts was public relations bravado.  Within 6 months of the luncheon, the company announced the closing of the plant and transfer of production to Mexico.  I suspect that the management at the plant didn’t know this was coming and were as shocked and dismayed as the rest of the town.  OK, they were probably more shocked and way more dismayed than the rest of us.

The huge Mooresville Mills property has been gussied up and marketed for some time by Cherokee Properties, hoping to get some commercial mojo working with a variety of innovative proposals.  Unfortunately, the economy has prevented anyone from coming up with a formula that would be profitable so far.  So, Cherokee is throwing in the towel and getting Pappas Properties of Birkdale Village and Phillips Place fame to work their magic and come up with something worthwhile and profitable.  They don’t show this on their web site yet, so maybe they’re still working on eye-catching marketing concepts.

In any case, I wish them luck.  If something cool actually took hold there, think what an impact it would have on Mooresville and the adjacent Mill Village.