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KENANSVILLE — Progress updates on the development of the Airpark beside Duplin County Airport took center stage at the Duplin County Economic Development Board meeting last Friday. Economic Development Director Scotty Summerlin and two engineers involved in the project brought board members up to date on the infrastructure work as well as construction of the new shell building on the property.
The original completion date for the infrastructure work, including roads, water and sewer lines and power, was this past July. However, several issues delayed the completion.
“The July date got pushed out to October because of a multitude of things, weather being a biggie, and then some coordination issues,” Summerlin said in an interview with Duplin Journal after the board meeting. “Those things that are unanticipated carry extra days with them.”
He added that change orders sought by contractors on the project also contributed to the delay.
With the timing of the work, the current issue involves two major contractors involved in the project at the Airpark: Chatham Construction, which is handling all the infrastructure work, and Daniels and Daniels, which is building the two new 50,000-square-foot shell buildings at the Airpark.
“With the Chatham contract running longer, this put Daniels and Daniels’ work in an overlap situation,” Summerlin said. “We couldn’t have two large contractors in the same space, essentially.”
Now, it’s estimated the work will be completed in mid-November.
The delays will not affect a groundbreaking ceremony for the new shell buildings scheduled for Oct. 14.
After hearing updates, the board voted to proceed with site clearing and survey work for several short-term, one-and two-bedroom rental units that will be built in one area of the Airpark.
In addition to news regarding progress on the Airpark, Summerlin also shared success stories from other areas of Duplin County.
One of those involved is what is known as the Schwarz building in Warsaw. A large auto parts distributor, Auto Parts Authority, now occupies most of the over 200,000 square-foot building. The company imports auto parts from around the world and distributes them across the United States. They now have 35 employees. Summerlin said the landlord of the building was impressed with what the company had done with the building during a recent visit.
“He went on and on about how impressed he was because it’s such a clean operation,” Summerlin said.
He also mentioned the ongoing success of the company NextGen Cabinets, which now occupies over 50,000 square feet of the former J.P. Stevens SteveCo plant in Wallace. The building is now called Duplin Industrial Center. NextGen Cabinets employs 11 people and is expected to do $1 million in sales in their first year.
