A massive mixed-use development in Johnston County is gearing up to begin work on the site's first new building after securing financing for the project earlier this month.
Last week, AdVenture Development announced it is planning to begin work on a 135,000-square-foot industrial building at Eastfield Crossing, the company’s 467-acre development outside Selma, now that it has secured financing from Dollar Bank.
“We look forward to breaking ground on the business park,” AdVenture Development President Kevin Dougherty said. “We’re grateful for the support from the Town of Selma, Johnston County and all of the business leaders and partners who have worked with us throughout the planning and development process.”
The building will be part of construction on the industrial portion of the project.
Eastfield Crossing is a planned development located at Interstate 95 Exits 97 and 98 near Selma. In all, the project calls for 3 million square feet of mixed-use space. This includes a 1.5 million-square-foot industrial park, around 500,000 square feet for retail, multifamily and single-family residential product, three hotels and around 200,000 square feet of medical space.
Dougherty said he expects it to take the next five to 10 years to fully build out.
In 2019, the Johnston County Board of Commissioners approved an incentives package to support the project.
The new building is planned to be built on spec, though with the blazing hot demand for industrial space in the Triangle these days, it could lease up well before work is finished. Arco Design/Build will provide comprehensive design and construction services on the project. Phoenix Commercial is handling the leasing.
Dougherty said the booming market for industrial space played a role in his decision to include an industrial park as part of the project.
“We’re targeting advanced manufacturing and warehouse distribution-type companies. There was literally no available space in Johnston County,” Dougherty said. “We felt that was an important piece we needed to get underway sooner rather than later.”
He said both AdVenture Development COO Mark McDonnell and Johnston County Director of Economic Development Chris Johnson both impressed on him how explosive the market for industrial space had become across the county and in the Triangle overall.
Among many large industrial projects announced in the county, last month Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) unveiled its plans for a $100 million import processing center in Smithfield, a move that’s expected to bring with it the creation of more than 500 jobs. Dougherty said more industrial space will be needed in the county for the ancillary growth that comes with big projects such as Amazon's.
Plans for Eastfield have been in the works since 2007 when Dougherty bought his first piece of property on the site. Since then, his holdings have ballooned to around 407 acres plus an additional 60-plus acres that he has under contract.
While the industrial development is the first new construction, it’s not the first building to undergo work as a part of the project. In 2019, the company began work on the first phase of the development: the Triangle East Collaborative, or TEC, located at the site of the old JR Outlet Building. TEC features 75,000 square feet of commercial space with plans to feature a new 15,000-square-foot, multi-eatery space called "Old North State Food Hall."
