Some construction around Antrim business park to begin

Activity at Antrim Commons Business Park will be visible to passersby in the near future. Representatives from Chesapeake Realty Group shared a timeline at the Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce breakfast Tuesday.

With one company interested in a 1.4 million square-foot facility at the Atapco development at exit 3, Edward Brady and Robert Hooper told the guests the Chesapeake/Atapco partnership is readying the site. Within 60 days the developers will have the plans for the project, and hope it will come to fruition. Unable to predict the impact on the Greencastle-Antrim School District real estate tax base, the two said such a large facility could cost $60 million to erect, and the tenant could add another $20 million in interior work.

A second company is considering a one million square-foot big box structure.

“We’re very excited about this development,” said Hooper.

Brady did reveal that a convenience gas station was slated to locate at the entrance to the business park. He indicated residents would figure out the enterprise soon enough.

ACBP consists of 200 acres, most zoned industrial. Approximately 30 acres near U.S. 11 is highway commercial.  Armada Drive has been constructed, utilities have been laid, and stormwater management is underway, Brady said. The market has been up and down in the last year, but he hopes returns to steady ground in the next 18 months. Once any contract is signed, Chesapeake can get a building up in six months.

Road work will begin in a few weeks, as U.S. 11 is widened at exit 3, which will also be shifted to allow a straight entrance to the park; at Commerce Drive; and at a new access to be created midway between the two.

“This is to alleviate bottlenecks,” said Hooper.

The nearby Norfolk Southern terminal will benefit ACBP clients, according to Brady. The developers could construct a track right up to a tenant’s door, if desired. Ideally, this would cut costs for the distributor, thereby aiding cash flow and resulting in lower prices for consumers, since there was less expense in moving the product.

The pair said all infrastructure would be in place by the end of 2012. They saw their role in the project as “the feet on the ground. We are a smaller boutique developer and then bring in the bigger players, like Atapco.”