HMH to bring 35 jobs, $7 million investment to Ashe Industrial Park

WEST JEFFERSON — Ashe County’s new industrial park on Ray Taylor Road will soon have its first occupant.

H&M Holdings recently purchased industrial park lot No. 5 for $500,000, according to Ashe County Assistant County Manager and Community Development Director Nick Farmerie.

HMH is planning a collision center for emergency response vehicles, including fire trucks and ambulances.

HMH’s new manufacturing facility will have a local $7 million taxable investment while bringing 35 new jobs paying above the area median income, according to county officials.

The proposed facility will be 50,000 square feet and 30 feet tall, the largest buildable structure on that site, said Farmerie.

“The purchase of property within the Ashe County Industrial Park represents a significant investment in the county’s economic future,” said Farmerie. “This project will help diversify and expand Ashe County’s tax base while creating new quality employment opportunities that are expected to pay wages above the area median income. The investment continues to show how Ashe County is a regional leader in manufacturing, supports long-term economic growth, and helps ensure a more resilient local economy for residents and businesses alike.”

Farmerie said the county didn’t provide any direct incentives to the company to come to Ashe County, but that it did sell the property at a price below fair market value. The difference in value is treated as the incentive the company got, he said.

Breaking ground and moving forward

In addition to HMH’s announcement, county officials and WithersRavenel engineering consultants previously broke ground on a new shell spec building at the industrial park on April 20.

The 15,000-square-foot shell building, which is expandable to 30,000 square feet, will include everything that goes into a typical industrial building, excluding interior furnishings, Farmerie previously stated.

County officials stated that having a metal-shell building at the Industrial Park will improve the prospects for competitive bidding by other companies considering coming to Ashe County.

A larger-than-expected regional manufacturing workforce could indicate an untapped local workforce that could fill positions for companies relocating to Ashe County, Farmerie said.

The industrial park project’s total expenditure, including the shell building, is $4.1 million. Total available revenues for the project include $2.5 million in Golden Leaf funds, $233,716 in economic development reserve funds, $870,029 in BREMCO REDLG funds, and a $537,172 general fund appropriation.