Thousands of jobs planned for new commercial, industrial projects

DEVELOPMENT

Thousands of jobs planned for new commercial, industrial projects

By TOM SPIGOLON

tspigolon@covnews.com

Major industrial and commercial projects producing thousands of jobs are planned or under construction throughout Newton County.

However, any listing of the county’s top industrial and commercial projects of the past year will be dominated by one not located inside the county but whose size will make it a regional employer once completed. RIVIAN INC.

Electric vehicle maker Rivian Inc. plans to locate its second U.S. production facility on a 2,000-acre site on the north side of I-20, straddling the line between Walton and Morgan counties and adjacent to Newton County’s northeast border.

Construction is expected to begin later this year with production starting in 2024. The plant will employ up to 7,500 and be designed to produce up to 400,000 vehicles a year, officials said.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced in December that Rivian was planning the $5 billion production, research and training facility on the Stanton Springs North site owned by the four-county Joint Development Authority (JDA).

The state and the JDA then announced in March the company is receiving $1.5 billion in incentives to build in Georgia, including tax credits; state and local incentives totaling $1.28 billion; $198 million in state site and road improvements and other projects and services such as a state-sponsored training center.

A Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with the JDA requires Rivian to make annual payments and meet a number of performance goals, including creation of 7,500 jobs paying an average starting salary of about $55,000 apiece.

Under the agreement, Georgia state government will acquire the land from the JDA and lease it to Rivian. The state government, like other public entities in Georgia, does not pay property taxes on land it owns.

The agreement spelled out the amount the company will give in payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) which could total $300 million over 25 years and be shared between the JDA’s four counties, including Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton.

Morgan County will receive 14.25%, or almost $43 million, of the taxes received in the PILOT agreement. Newton will receive more than $90 million of the total because it has about a 32% share of any taxes received from business parks the JDA operates.

Georgia Department of Transportation announced related roadwork planned for the plant includes: • Widening of U.S. 278 from Shire Parkway in Newton County to Willow Springs Church Road in Walton County, near an employee entrance to the Rivian site. Start of construction is planned for 2023. • Construction of a Frontage Road along the north side of I-20 from U.S. Hwy. 278 at the Newton-Walton line to Old Mill Road in Morgan County. Start of work is planned for 2023. • A new I-20 interchange at Old Mill Road in Morgan County and demolition of the current Old Mill Road overpass. Construction start is set for 2024.

The production facility will be where the company produces a new SUV model expected to be more affordably priced than its current vehicles, company officials said in April.

Rivian’s quarterly letter to shareholders stated that the facility would be the production site for its planned R2 platform which will be a more accessibly priced mid-sized SUV than its current line of vehicles. MORNING HORNET LLC

A company called Morning Hornet LLC took ownership of a $42 billion data center project under construction in the Stanton Springs South technology park in northeast Newton County early this year.

The purchase and sale agreement was for more than 628.5 acres of land, priced at $62,500 per acre.

Construction of the data center, which will total approximately 2 million square feet, will be completed in phases, bond documents state.

Phase 1, which is estimated to cost $750 million, is expected to be finished by Dec. 31, 2026. With 900,000 squarefeet of interior space, the Phase 1 facility’s completion will add approximately 50 new jobs. Phases 2, 3 and 4 facilities are estimated to cost $550 million each

Years of planning and development of a site formerly deemed “undevelopable” led to the start of construction of a variety of projects within the multi-use development called Covington Town Center.

Tom Spigolon | The News

for 400,000 square-feet of interior space per facility, and each phase will have completion dates in 2028, 2030 and 2032, respectively.

As approved by all four counties, Morning Hornet will make payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, starting in April 2027 at $2 million and increase by $1 million every two years until April 2033, totaling $5 million per year. The payments will be due even if the phases are not completed on time.

Newton and Walton counties will receive 37.5% of the revenue, Morgan County will receive 15% and Jasper County 10%.

COVINGTON TOWN CENTER

Years of planning and development of a site formerly deemed “undevelopable” led to the start of construction of a variety of projects within the multi-use development called Covington Town Center.

The $300 million mixed-use development project spans 180 acres and is located in an area bounded by Alcovy and City Pond roads and Georgia Hwy. 142 in northeast Covington. The Foxfield Co. is the master developer and anchors for the project are three national chain hotels, a Publix supermarket, a 350-unit apartment complex, 625 townhomes, walking trails and a 29-acre wildlife habitat.

Landmark Properties announced in late June of this year it started leasing The Cove at Covington Town Center apartment community. The 350-unit, market-rate property at 12301 Town Center Blvd. helps fill a serious need for more housing for area industrial employees — many of whom commute from as far away as Augusta, according to local industrial recruiters.

Florida-based chicken tenders restaurant chain Huey Magoo’s announced early this year that one of its franchised eateries would be be open by fall near the Alcovy Road side of the Town Center development. Other nationally-known chain restaurants slated to be part of Town Center were to include Dunkin’ Donuts and Panda Express.

Publix is under construction and will include 48,387 square feet. It will be the anchor store of the Town Center retail area’s 63,000-square-foot first phase — the grocer’s second Newton County location.

The additional 14,400 square feet of small shop space “will offer a complementary mix of services, restaurants, and retail designed to meet the needs of the city of Covington and Newton County’s growing residential and employee population,” a news release stated.

In addition, construction has begun on the hotels planned for the site. They are set to include Residence Inn by Marriott, Staybridge Suites and Courtyard by Marriott. 80 ACRES FARMS

A nationally-known vertical farming company announced in June it will create 150 new jobs after it opens in northeast Covington and begins distributing to retailers by early 2023.

The company, called 80 Acres Farms, will invest $120 million in its Covington plant that seeks to meet “consumer demand for locally grown fresh produce to address food insecurity and achieve a healthier, more sustainable food supply,” a city government news release stated.

Eighty Acres Farms operates “super-efficient vertical farms” that produce up to 300 times as much food per square foot as traditional agriculture, use 95% less water per pound of produce and minimizes food waste and miles traveled.

The company’s new facility is already under construction in Covington on Industrial Park Boulevard with expected completion by August, said city spokesman Ken Malcom. BATTERY RESOURCERS

Lithium-ion battery recycling startup company Battery Resourcers planned to invest $43 million to open its first commercial-scale battery recycling plant in Covington, Gov. Brian Kemp announced in March.

The facility is expected to generate 150 jobs in Newton County and be the largest of its kind in North America.

Battery Resourcers is based in Worcester, Massachusetts and produces EV-grade batteries. It’s located in an existing 154,000-square-foot facility on Industrial Drive in Covington.

The facility will be able to process 30,000 metric tons of discarded lithium-ion batteries and scrap annually — the equivalent of 70,000 vehicle batteries per year — at full production.

Major brand investors of Battery Resourcers include Jaguar Land Rover, Orbia, TDK, TRUMPF Group, Doral Energy and Hitachi. SKC INC.

SKC Inc. announced in October 2021 it will create more than 400 new jobs as it works with several business partners to manufacture a part for semiconductor chips in a new facility on its longtime Covington site.

The company will invest more than $473 million in this “unprecedented venture” to create glass-based substrates for the chips in Newton County, the governor’s office announced today.

SKC expects to ramp up production by late summer 2023, a news release stated.

The new facility will be developed on the SKC property at 3000 SKC Drive and will primarily be hiring high-tech engineers, skilled technicians, and other semiconductor field-experienced talent, the release stated.

COVINGTON LOGISTICS PARK

City officials and developers gathered Thursday, Sept. 9, in Covington to break ground on a possible 167-acre industrial development project.

Located off Hazelbrand Road, Ashley Capital intends to build up to four industrial buildings totaling 1.7 million square feet to anchor Covington Logistics Park.

Covington Mayor Steve Horton said the development would fill a need for Class A industrial space. The lack of space has discouraged businesses from locating or expanding in the area, he said.

IN THE WORKS

City of Covington officials in mid-July were publicly discussing the possibility of a major employer locating on a site near the Covington Airport.

Also, a 4-million-square-foot industrial park development now called Covington Industrial Park has been proposed on land in northeast Covington that could be valued at $500 million when entirely built out.

Its mix of uses also could lead to employment of up to 3,000, a developer said.

Covington city government filed a notice with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs July 12 that a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) was planned for the site.

The proposed industrial park development will consist of a total of 4.08 million square feet of buildings for warehousing and manufacturing on 478 acres when completed by 2030, according to the DRI.

The 478-acre site is located in an area north of Alcovy Road, south of Flat Rock and Gregory roads, and east of Georgia Hwy. 142. Entrances are planned at Hwy. 142 for heavy truck traffic, with a new traffic signal proposed there; and at Alcovy Road where lighter traffic will be sent, the developer said.

Construction is planned in two phases, including 2.4 million square feet in phase one and 1.6 million square feet in phase two, said Covington chief planner Marc Beechuk.

The developer is listed as Buford-based Newton Land Investments LLC whose principal agent is John B. ”Jay” Williams, according to information filed with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. Property owners include Southpoint Land Co. LLC; JBW Investments LLC and JF Land Investments LLC, according to the DRI.