Steel Warehouse Company got the OK from the Catawba County Board of Commissioners and Hickory City Council as both approved agreements to match 5% of a N.C. Department of Commerce grant, totaling $6,000 each.
The commissioners approved the match on Monday and city council approved the match on Tuesday.
The grant is funded through the N.C. Department of Commerce. It was offered through the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.
The $240,000 grant will be awarded when jobs are created and maintained for at least six months, said Hickory City Business and Community Development Manager Dave Leonetti.
Hickory City Business and Community Development Manager Dave Leonetti gives a brief presentation about Steel Warehouse Company to the Hickory City Council on Tuesday.
City officials also approved an economic development agreement with both the Department of Commerce and Western Piedmont Council of Governments on Tuesday evening.
On Monday night, the Board of Commissioners voted to provide a property tax break for Steel Warehouse.
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Catawba County Economic Development Corporation Development Specialist Kimberly Propst told commissioners an incentive was necessary to encourage investment from the company.
The tax grant will allow Steel Warehouse to receive a return of up to 50% of the assessed value of its property each year after it pays property taxes and provides evidence of job creation and land and building improvements.
Nathan Huret, Economic Development Coordinator for Catawba County Economic Development Corporation, said the first payment to the company would not occur until the spring of 2026. Over five years, the tax incentive will provide the company with no more than $294,392 from Catawba County.
More jobs and tax base increase
“In terms of investment in jobs, they’re (Steel Warehouse) looking at a $27 million investment for the first five years with approximately 58 jobs and an average wage of roughly $59,500,” said City Business and Community Development Manager Leonetti.
Leonetti said up to 30 jobs may be created in the first two years. By five years, Steel Warehouse should reach about 58 jobs.
The estimated wage is higher than the county’s average of $54,000, Leonetti said.
There will be a 50% grant of tax base increase for five years, Leonetti said, with a maximum incentive of $336,131.
Leonetti said it is important to note that incentives are only paid after property taxes are paid and there are claw backs if Steel Warehouse does not meet job and investment thresholds.
What is Steel Warehouse and where will it be?
Steel Warehouse Company is a family-owned steel manufacturing business that has been in business for 75 years, according to the company’s website. The website said there are 10 locations in the United States, one in Brazil and one in Mexico.
The site in Hickory is owned by Steel Warehouse Company’s subsidiary company, Steel Warehouse of North Carolina, LLC.
Steel Warehouse Company plans to repurpose the old Appalachian Hardwood Flooring factory on Highland Avenue in Hickory.
The Hickory site will be located at 2441 Highland Ave. NE on a 27-acre plot of land. The location is the former Appalachian Hardwoods facility.
The building has 50,000 square feet ready for repurposing and there are plans to expand it by 300,000 square feet.
A rail spur will be constructed for the site.
Councilwoman Charlotte Williams asked Leonetti for a timeline of completion. Leonetti was uncertain, but said, “I believe they plan on getting up and running in the first phase … maybe within the next 12 months.”
Miya Banks is an education reporter at the Hickory Daily Record.