Officials hope commerce park will bring jobs to Eastern Shore

225-acre tract is in unincorporated Baldwin County next to land in both Daphne and Spanish Fort

Saturday, October 23, 2004

By DAN MURTAUGH

Staff Reporter

Mobile Register

MALBIS -- Officials and business leaders on Friday broke ground at a new industrial park they hope will bring corporate headquarters and high-paying jobs to the Eastern Shore.

The Daphne Technology and Commerce Center is a 225-acre tract north of Interstate 10 and just east of the Eastern Shore Centre mall. The park is in unincorporated Baldwin County but is adjacent to land in both Daphne and Spanish Fort.

Sonny and Claudene Nichols, a husband-and-wife development team, in July formed Spanish Trail Investments, which purchased the land from International Paper for about $1.25 million, according to county deed records.

Sonny Nichols worked with the Daphne Industrial Development Board on the deal, and the city of Daphne has a two-year option to purchase 80 acres on the south end of the park for $25,000 an acre, said City Clerk David Cohen.

That's well below the market value of nearby land, which Cohen said was between $50,000 and $80,000 an acre. Cohen said securing land at that cost for companies should provide incentive to bring businesses and jobs to the area.

At the groundbreaking, Nichols said he is hoping to attract corporate headquarters, light manufacturing sites, small distribution centers and technology firms -- all of which would bring high-paying jobs without marring the environment of the Eastern Shore.

"We're not looking for smokestacks," he said.

The park probably won't attract a large company, like Boeing or Honda, but it could provide a home for suppliers to such businesses, Cohen said.

Lance LaCour, chairman of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance, said several companies already have looked at the location.

Several local and state officials at the Friday ceremony said they expect big things from the park.

"Our economy here in Baldwin County is going to be built on things like this," said state Sen. Bradley Byrne, R-Montrose.

The land was previously a pine plantation owned by International Paper. When the company closed several mills in Mobile, it approached Daphne to use the land to make up for the lost jobs, Cohen said.

The city's Industrial Development Board has been working since 2000 on this project, Cohen said.

"I was shuffling my feet like a kid on Christmas morning," said state Rep. Randy Davis, R-Daphne. "I've been waiting so long for this."

Daphne Utilities will provide water and sewer service to the park and will compete with Mobile Gas Service for natural gas sales, according to the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance. Riviera Utilities will provide electricity, and Daphne police and fire departments will serve the area, according to the alliance.