Fourth Edition 2003
Economic Development
On Friday, October 24, the Southpointe CEO Association held an informative luncheon for its members and their guests at the Southpointe Golf Club. The luncheon featured three presentations on the continuing economic development of Southpointe I, and the future development of Southpointe II (formerly the Western Center). The key-note speakers on hand were Senator Barry Stout, Roger Carrier, Chairman, Property Owners Association, and Richard Miller, VP, Millcraft R.E. Development. Roger Carrier gave a brief history of Southpointe’s success and updated the continuing economic development of Southpointe I. Southpointe is 572-acre parcel which was a portion of the Western Center State Hospital sold to Washington County back in 1996. The Southpointe project was managed by the Washington County Redevelopment Authority. It is a fully developed mixed use park (office, flex, industrial, retail, and residential) containing 2.2 million square feet of Class A office space. As of October 2003, 135 companies are located in Southpointe including 9 World headquarters and 19 US corporate headquarters. The park hosts in excess of 5,000 jobs.
Richard Miller updated members and guest on the newest developments within the park, including a restaurant center that will be located next to the Hilton Gardent Inn. The restaurants that are expected to open for business in the 1 st quarter of 2004 are an upscale Tuscan Subway and a Hunan Inn. Discussions are continuing with several other restaurants to fill the remaining spaces.
Senator Stout who was originally responsible for introducing the bill allowing Washington County to purchase the remaining 225 acres of the former Western Center, enlightened the group on the latest plans for Southpointe II. On Monday, November 10 during a press conf- erence the Washington County Commissioners along with Senator Stout and state Representative Victor Lescovitz stated that the Washington County Authority (WCA) has been selected to manage the development of the 225 acre site adjacent to Southpointe I. The WCA proposal as stated is expected to create 3,000+ jobs and construction will cost $180.5 million. The original plan calls for a mixed use park with a town center atmosphere including an education facility, residential and recreational areas. Ground is expected to be broken in 2004. |
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