Hayestone Brady Business Park: 1997 v. 2017

A great deal can happen in 20 years.

20 years ago the movie Titanic had just premiered, Dolly the sheep was cloned, OJ Simpson was put on trial, and Harry Potter was still unpublished.

In 1997, 425 acres of Stephens County farm land were purchased by the Stephens County Development Authority located between Toccoa and Lavonia on Hwy 17 (now Old Hwy 17). Those acres would later become the county's 4th industrial park; the Hayestone Brady Business Park.

SCDA Seeks Enterprise Zone Status for Hayestone-Brady Business Park

The Stephens County Development Authority is pursuing a special status for the Hayestone-Brady Business Park in order to try to make it more attractive to potential industries.

Last week, Stephens County Commissioners approved the Development Authority’s application to the state to make the business park on Highway 17 and an adjacent property an enterprise zone.

The Development Authority has previously pursued this for a number of other properties in the county.

Stephens County Development Authority Executive Director Tim Martin said an enterprise zone status would give tax credits to anyone creating jobs at Hayestone-Brady.

“What that means is that if a company creates two or more jobs, (though) it cannot be husband and wife, they would gain $3500 tax credit against their Georgia income tax liability each year for five years if they maintain those jobs,” said Martin.

If a company has no state income tax liability, the tax credit can go towards their payroll withholding tax, said Martin.

According to Martin, the enterprise zone tax credits are similar to those that are available in counties the state considers the most economically distressed.

During a public hearing on the budget last week, Martin told county commissioners that because Stephens County as a whole is not in that economic category, it does not have full access to the same state tax credits that neighboring counties do.

Martin said the enterprise zone status levels that playing field for properties that receive the designation.

The Development Authority’s application will now go to the state Department of Community Affairs for its approval. There is no timeline for receiving word on that approval.

Invitation to Bid Hayestone Brady Business Park Landscaping

Sealed bids for construction of Landscaping Hayestone Brady Business Park, will be received until 2:00 p.m. April 19, 2011 at the office of the Stephens County Development Authority at 31 W. Doyle Street, Toccoa, Georgia 30577 at which time they will be publicly opened and publicly read. Any proposal received after said time and date will not be considered by the Owner. No bid may be withdrawn after the closing time for the receipt of bids for a period of 60 days.


Hayestone Brady Business Park Landscaping Bid

Hayestone-Brady Business Park receives GRAD

The Hayestone-Brady Business Park joins just a few other industrial parks in Georgia as the recipient of a specialized certification.

Wednesday, the Stephens County Development Authority announced that the Highway 17 business park had received Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development certification.

GRAD certification as it is called is awarded by a public-private economic development marketing partnership called Georgia Allies.

Stephens County Development Authority Executive Director Tim Martin said the GRAD certification involves a rigorous process.

“It forced us to work through the property ownership, the infrastructure in terms of utilities, the weight-bearing capacity of the land, and the presence of wetlands or any cultural resources,” said Martin. “All of those fronts we now have answers on and if they are in the future a concern to someone, we can allay those concerns up front.”

Martin went on to say that the information gathered during the GRAD certification process provides knowledge that businesses want before picking a site.

He said that advance knowledge gives Stephens County and Hayestone-Brady Business Park an advantage.

“Companies do not like surprises,” explained Martin. “When a company looks at a community and wants to consider it for relocation, investment, and jobs, it wants to be confident that the information it receives about that site is current and accurate.”

According to Martin, only a handful of industrial sites in the state have achieved GRAD certification, which gives Hayestone-Brady another advantage.

Other local officials are also expressing their excitement over the news.

Toccoa Mayor Janice English, Stephens County Commission Chairman J.B. Hudgins, and Development Authority Chairman Cam Parker all say the certification will set Hayestone-Brady apart from the pack for industrial development.
The Hayestone-Brady Business Park joins just a few other industrial parks in Georgia as the recipient of a specialized certification.

Charlie Bauder, WNEG

In spite of snow, work continues at Hayestone Brady Business Park!

Hayestone-Brady Business Park Nears Completion

Stephens County Development Authority Executive Director Tim Martin said the work that began at the Highway 17 business park in June will soon wrap up on time and on budget. Based on weather, Martin says completion can be expected either late this month or early in January. The work was paid for with SPLOST money.
WNEG

Advances made on economic front

There is good news – for a change – looming on the economic horizon for Toccoa-Stephens County.

The Stephens County Industrial Development Authority has been instrumental in securing commitments for two new industries to locate in our community.

The first is a Michigan-based wood components manufacturing company, as yet unidentified, that will locate in Meadowbrook Industrial Park in the Eastanollee area.

The company is expected to create 12 new jobs when it begins operations by November.

Also announced this week was the news that Crown Resources, a maker of drainage, filtration, asphalt overlay and erosion sedimentation control applications, will move its Greer, S.C., operations to the Rooker spec building in the Hayestone Brady Park.

The building is located adjacent to Highway 17 and bulldozers and other equipment could be seen working at the site the last two weeks.

Crown will bring with it 20 jobs.

That's a total of 32 new jobs for Toccoa-Stephens County, not a lot by high economic development standards – the 32 won't even replace the 100 or so jobs lost earlier this year when an industrial plant closed its Toccoa operations – but it is a start.

In these difficult economic times, when competition for new industry is beyond fierce, it should make the community feel better that some headway is being made in the creation of jobs for Toccoa-Stephens County.

To put it bluntly, 32 jobs is better than zero jobs created.

Also on a positive note on the economic development front, was the news last week that the development authority, because of less than expected contractual costs, will expand its work plan in the Hayestone-Brady industrial park.

The authority is utilizing proceeds from a special purpose local options sales tax (SPLOST) to build the park. That means infrastructure improvements such as roads, water, sewer, gas and electricity.

A recent visit to the park construction site showed considerable activity as roads are being cut and some sites leveled and prepared for potential new industrial prospects.

When completed, Hayestone-Brady will certainly be the centerpiece of Toccoa-Stephens County's industrial recruitment program.

With the completion of the park – and the much-awaited construction of a four-lane Highway 17 – Toccoa-Stephens County will take a back seat to no other community when it comes to showcasing building sites for potential industrial residents.

Our economy will not turn around from 10 percent unemployment to full employment overnight because of these two new industries and the ongoing construction of the new industrial park.

However, there is cause for optimism that with the advances of recent days we are headed to a much brighter future filled with jobs, an increased tax base and heftier payrolls supporting local consumer spending.

Toccoa-Stephens County Welcomes Crown Resources!

Crown Resources, a geotextiles manufacturer, is relocating their operations from Greer, S.C. to Toccoa-Stephens County. Their new home will be the building formerly known as the Rooker spec building in Hayestone Brady Business park. Rooker crews are readying the building for a Nov. 1, occupancy. Production is expected to start Feb. 1, 2011. After the first of the year Crown Resources will announce its hiring needs and process. At start-up, the company will employ 20 people. Crown Resources serves mainly the construction and road building industries.

Crown Resources provides premium quality, cost-efficient woven and nonwoven geotextiles. The company offers a broad range of geotextiles to satisfy the most complex engineering demands for drainage, filtration, asphalt overlay, separation, stabilization, erosion and sedimentation control applications.

“We’re excited about our move to Toccoa, Georgia. We’ve had this beautiful area on our radar for a couple of years and have enjoyed working with local officials on this project,” said Monte Thomas, Crown Resources’ CEO.

“Toccoa is centrally located with strong transportation connections and offers a superb workforce from which we can draw our employees,” Thomas said.

“The Rooker spec building located in what will be the premier industrial park in north Georgia — Hayestone Brady Business Park, is perfectly suited to our needs. We feel very fortunate to be able to secure it for our operations,” Thomas said.

“Crown Resources has chosen Stephens County and Toccoa for their expansion and we look forward to making them feel welcome,” county commission chairman Dean Scarborough said.

“The work in infrastructure development and the commitment of the Rooker Company to place a spec building at Hayestone has helped make this possible. Diligence by our Development Authority, its volunteers, and the citizens of Stephens County have helped make this a reality,” Scarborough said.

“Good luck Crown Resources. I know the people of this community will make you proud you chose this location,” he said.

“This announcement provides an exclamation point to our efforts to develop Hayestone Brady Business Park,: said Cam Parker, SDCA chairman. “Landing this great company just as we are seeing visible progress at the Park is exciting and will propel us to even more success at recruiting jobs and investments to our community.”

“We welcome Crown Resources to the community. We have been very impressed with this company’s track record of success. We believe it complements our existing manufacturing base and brings new technology and a strong future to our area,” Development Authority director Tim Martin said.

“Manufacturing has always been one of our strong suits,” said Toccoa Mayor Bob Troup.

“Monte Thomas and his team will provide another key component to our economic viability,” Troup said.

Industrial park work expanded

By Jessica Waters
The Toccoa Record

Following the receipt of lower-than-expected bids for site work at Hayestone Brady Industrial Park, the Stephens County Development Authority (SCDA) will proceed with additional road work, grading and site preparation earlier than expected.

According to SCDA executive director Tim Martin.

Approximately $7 million in SPLOST receipts have been earmarked for industrial development, said Martin.

“We pledged to ourselves that we would spend $5 million of that on Hayestone Brady,” said Martin, adding that collections from SPLOST is now expected to be closer to $6 million, as opposed to $7 million, but that the SCDA remains committed to the Hayestone Brady project.

Bids were submitted for grading of three lots, the addition of a lift station, a force main and two gravity mains as well as roadwork.

Those bids came back at approximately one half of the expected expenditure; said Martin and SCDA chairman Cam Parker.

Taking into account the savings on the planned work, Martin said they will expand the scope of the work to include paving the entire stretch of one road, grading out additional lots, running additional water and sewer lines and getting several additional plots pad-ready.

Groundbreaking for Hayestone Brady

The Stephens County Development Authority broke ground Tuesday June 8 for improvements to the Hayestone-Brady Business Park. The Hayestone-Brady Business Park is on Highway 17, between Toccoa and Martin, and currently is home to Caterpillar and the Currahee campus of North Georgia Technical College.

The project consists of building a road that will pass through the park and connect the current Georgia Highway 17 to the future route of four-lane Highway 17. The project will consist of some site work and the implantation of water and sewer facilities to ready the park for business.

Several city and county leaders were on hand to celebrate the occasion. Officials from local industries were present, as were state Sen. Jim Butterworth and state Rep. Michael Harden.

The Development Authority is receiving $7 million through SPLOST V (special purpose local option sales tax), approved by voters, to complete the infrastructure improvements that will make Hayestone-Brady ready for development.

Work has already begun on the project and is expected to be completed by late fall.

Click here for more photos from the ceremony: Groundbreaking photos

Click here to view video clips from the ceremony: Groundbreaking Videos

Bids awarded for Hayestone Brady Road and Sewer Projects!

Progress is being made on Hayestone Brady Business Park development. The bids were awarded at the end of April for the Hammerstone Road project and the sewer and water project. The water and sewer project was awarded to Cedar Farms & Construction; the road project was awarded to Simpson Trucking & Grading.

The Stephens County Development Authority hopes to announce a groundbreaking ceremony soon to celebrate Toccoa's newest industrial park!