"That's probably the first new investment in owntown in a building in maybe 10 years," Chris Plate, Plate, director, Monroe Economic Development, tells GlobeSt. com.

Monroe is the town seat of Union County, which last year fell from being the state's fastest growing to No. 4, with a population of about 110,000. But Plate is obviously pleased with continued developer interest in the area. Rental rates for the new building may be up to $18 per sf, much higher than the current $10 per sf or so.

"The office (market) has the highest occupancy levels in more than 10 years," says Plate. "We're very full right now." But he doesn't have figures showing the total office inventory or its current occupancy level.

There are only a handful of available office rentals in Monroe. About five condo office units are also nearly full. Condo rental rates are about $12 per sf.

"It's amazing how active we've become in the past 24 months," Plate says. So much so that the city's shell of an 48,900-sf building erected in the Monroe Corporate Center sold in less than a year for just over $1 million, including 12 acres of land.

A second, 56,000-sf building shell should be under way by August for winter occupancy. The city also plans to quickly unload that building in the 500-acre Monroe park. Industrial rates range from $3.25 per sf to $4 per sf, Plate says. The area's target markets for manufacturing include aerospace, metalworking, plastic and ceramics.

Another testament to the county's recent prosperity is that a Lowe's store has been so successful the office company tore down an existing facility and put a larger one of 114,000-sf in its place.

"They made enough money to tear it down and build a new one," Plate tells GlobeSt.com. "They built a parking lot on the old one and never lost a single day to retail sales."

Monroe is 25 miles from Charlotte and western Union County is close to the Charlotte airport. The Monroe Airport is large enough to land Boeing 737s. The city is less than eight miles from Interstate 485.

The economic downturn may have slowed things down a little, Plate says. "We've had a few hiccups, but we're not complaining. Other people would like to see the type of growth that for us a little slowdown."

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