Roane County Closes High-Tech Corporate Headquarters Project
Monday January 14, 2008
A million dollar check with the proceeds from a land sale package that puts the "Technology" focus back into the Roane Regional Business and Technology Park was delivered to the Roane County Commission this evening.
"It is with great pleasure that I bring you this second million-dollar check," said Roane County Industrial Development Board Chairman Steve Kirkham as he presented the check to Roane County Executive Mike Farmer at the Commission meeting.
The project - which closed at the end of 2007 -- is a multi-million-dollar high-tech corporate headquarters project in which Drs Sam and Carol Weaver bought the Smith House at Roane Regional and 40+ acres to consolidate and spin out into manufacture several of their companies' operations at the back of the park.
This evening's check is the second million-dollar check presented in the past year to the county by the industrial board. The first one was presented in August, 2007 and represented the land sales proceeds from five other industrial projects landed at Roane Regional that are expected to bring a total of 100 new jobs; up to $15 million in private investment and more than $140,000 a year in increased tax collections for Roane County.
The Weaver-owned start-up companies coming into Roane Regional as a part of this sale initially represent private investment of $2.75 million, along with 50 new jobs over the next two years, and an estimated $14 million and 450 jobs over the next five years. They include:
- Red Diamond Ceramics -- manufacturer of advanced composite ceramic product to be used in ceramic armor. It is in the prototype/R&D phase and expects to move into production within 6 months. This company is expected to invest $3 million; employ approximately 50 people over the next five years, and pay an average annual wage of $50,000/per employee.
- Cool Energy Inc. -- a Colorado company that has developed solar energy part prototypes. They expect to move into production in late 2009...this company is expected to invest $11 million; create 400 jobs within five years, and pay an average annual wage of $45,000/per employee.
- Proton Power - a startup company developing a new way to generate energy.
- Additional space in the Smith House is to be sub-leased to high-tech start-ups in an incubator-type setting.
Dr. Weaver is a serial entrepreneur who has started up, grown (creating a total of nearly 500 new jobs) and then sold several companies over the last 37 years in the West Knoxville/Oak Ridge area, including most recently Millennium Materials, a 100-employee West Knoxville-based industry which he sold to a UK-based group in 2001.
The three parcels - along with the Smith House and its outbuilding-- were sold to Sam and Carol Weaver for a total of $1,012,500. The house will become the corporate offices for the Weavers and their companies. Then, as the companies grow and move out into manufacture, production facilities are to be built either on the 27 acres surrounding the Smith house, or on the riverfront 14-acre parcel at the far back of the park.
The type of architecture to be used in the manufacturing facilities are to be the San Jose model, a higher-end industrial building, some of which will sit at an angle to the Smith House driveway, similar to West Knoxville's Franklin Square office complex.
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Contact:
Leslie Henderson
865-376-2093
