There are 14 empty former textile buildings with almost one million sf of space being marketed by local economic officials. But that's not all. There are also five industrial parks here and local officials plan a new 70,000-sf structure.

"With the buildings in our market, there's a gap in the 40,000-sf to 100,000-sf range," Crystal Morphis, president of the Surry County Economic Development Partnership, tells GlobeSt.com.

Citing national statistics that show 80% of relocating businesses want existing buildings rather than starting new ones, she says she is not worried about a glut of space on the market, despite the 14 buildings that range from 16,000 sf to 340,000 sf.

Rates for non-air conditioned buildings start at about $2.75 per sf and run up to around $4 per sf for the better buildings.

Surry County has a population of about 69,000 while its principal town, Mount Airy, has about 9,000 permanent residents. The region is about 80 miles north of Charlotte and used to be known for its textile mills, many of which have closed down. Which is a plus, in Morphis's mind, because it offers industry an already-trained labor force.

But perhaps even more compelling to users is the area's location. It is near Interstates I-77 and I-74, which allows one-day trucking access to many areas including Detroit, New York and Jacksonville, FL. Mount Airy is also only about an hour from the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, which is getting a new Federal Express office.

In addition to inexpensive and available infrastructure, including natural gas service, Morphis says, the area has the advantage of having a work force often trained at Surry Community College.

"It's an excellent technical college," she says. "They have specialized and customized training programs for industrial training." The unemployment rate at 4.5% is higher than many areas of the state, but Surry County has been growing about 1% a year.

Surry County's five existing industrial parks include the new 650-acre Mount Airy Industrial Park, which has no tenants yet. The other parks are anywhere from a third to half filled.

The EDP's own building is on a 10.7-acre tract purchased in January for $417,300 in the Piedmont Triad West Industrial Park. Morphis says plans are to begin construction this summer on a 70,000-sf structure that has the capacity to be doubled in the future.

The textile industry, and to a lesser degree the apparel industry, are not expected to return to the area, but Morphis expects new users to possibly include auto parts suppliers and food processing companies. Both industries in the past have shown interest in the area.

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