A new beginning: The Industrial Commons' vision for growth

Take your pick of the phrase that best captures how the property on East Fleming Drive in Morganton that once housed Drexel Furniture Plants 3&5 looks today:

Disaster area.

Waste land.

War zone.

Looks can be deceiving, however, for within the next three years the first building of The Industrial Commons’ new Innovation Campus should be ready to open its doors.

That building will represent the first step in the building of a campus that will include space for the main offices of The Industrial Commons (TIC) as well as incubation space for emerging manufacturing businesses, worker training and education facilities, and a creative area for the display of community art.

Eventually, the on-campus buildings will be surrounded by nearly 8 acres of public parks, walking trails, outdoor gathering areas, and gardens.

In addition, future plans call for a 10-acre community housing site to be developed adjacent to the campus — a site that would provide easy walking access to the Morganton Farmers Market and to all of downtown.

The Paper sat down recently for a chat with TCI’s senior director of infrastructure, Erin Kizer, for an update on the development of the site and its potential impact on Morganton, Burke County, and indeed the entire region.

“So much of what this site and our efforts are all about is based on the history of the site itself,” Kizer explained. “At one time it was home to a thriving industry where generations of Burke County workers were employed making quality furniture.

“The vision of our co-founders and co-executive directors, Sara Chester and Molly Hemstreet, has always been that this new campus would be a welcoming place, with space to accommodate our programs, and a birthplace for new thriving industries. And the fact that it is close to downtown is an added bonus.”

Two factors unique to the site have slowed TIC’s efforts to get it ready for development.

One, Kizer said, is that the land has lain fallow for so long — Drexel closed its operations early in the 21st century and most of the old plant was destroyed in a 2009 fire.

Secondly, it has literally taken years to clean up the environment hazards on the site, including the safe dismantling of an old fuel tank on the site — a tank that still held more than 20,000 gallons of fuel when site excavations began.

Kizer is now hopeful that work on the site can begin this summer and that construction of that first building can begin before the end of this year.

“We are fully funded for the first building and are ready to get to work,” Kizer said.

Part of that funding was provided in the autumn of 2023 when the Appalachian Regional Commission announced that it was awarding a $10 million grant to TIC in support of the project.

So what’s the deal on this first building?

“It will be called the Accelerator Building,” Kizer responded. “It will be a 40,000-square-foot space. The primary focus will be flexible work spaces — spaces where basically new businesses can be incubated.

“Our goal is to give new businesses a place to grow,” Kizer continued. “And if they grow, if they find success, the hope is they will then build out.”

In an earlier interview, Chester had noted that businesses locating on the campus will be expected to “uphold high standards around environmental sustainability and to prioritize quality jobs and strong benefits for workers. We will look for businesses to co-locate on the campus that are ‘triple bottom line — focused on profit, people, and planet.’”

The second facility planned for the site will be called the Commons Building, Kizer said. It will house TOSS, a program that strives to connect art to the community; the Work in Burke initiative, a job training program; and a dining hall for staff and visitors.

Even as the new campus is developed, TIC’s current campus on Hopewell Road will continue to be used. That campus, which is owned by TIC, is home to Material Return, a textile product recycling industry.

And as to why the site has looked especially rough of late, Kizer explained that TIC has contracted with Burke County to use the site as a temporary repository for waste from Hurricane Helene until it can be permanently disposed of.

According to County Manager Brian Epley, the site has proved to be a blessing for the county.

“We’re very appreciative of our partnership with The Industrial Commons,” he said. “Our debris collection efforts were being slowed because of the wet ground and the impact of heavy trucks and trailers getting stuck. So, to find a site that provided so much space with a solid surface was really a game-changer and expedited our collections.”