$65 million floorcovering plant to be built in Whitfield County

Dalton Daily Citizen:

The Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority cleared the way this morning for a Northwest Georgia company to build a $65 million facility at Enterprise Drive and the South Bypass that will bring at least 200 new jobs to the Dalton area.

In a series of votes taken this morning at a specially called meeting of the JDA, the authority approved purchasing a 42-acre site from the Whitfield Properties Business Park for the company, JBBS Holdings LLC, to build its new plant on. In addition, the authority approved a letter of intent and lease between the JDA and the company that stipulates that the JDA will grade the site for the company.

The county commissioners have called a special called meeting for tonight to discuss the project and vote on allocating the funds necessary to purchase the property and grade it.

The purchase price of the land is approximately $1.42 million and the grading costs for the tract will be about $1.5 million.

County Commission Chairman Mike Babb said following the JDA meeting that the county has approved enough in its bonds for the IVC and Carbondale Business Park projects to cover this amount as well.

Babb said while the county will be paying for the land and cost of grading it, the company will not receive any tax abatements. Elyse Cochran, executive director of the JDA, said the company will pay an estimated $650,000 in county and school property taxes per year.

Cochran said JBBS is an advance manufacturing company in the floorcovering industry and that it will pay its employees on average 25 percent more than the current average hourly wage for people in the advance manufacturing sector. In addition, the size of the site gives the company room to expand in the future if it needs to, she said.

Andy Walker, the chairman of the JDA, said the company wanted to build in Whitfield County and he is hoping that the county can continue to build on its recent string of economic development successes.

“We have become known as a place that wants new business,” he said.