Former Thomasville Furniture plant listed for $6.5M

Once part of Caldwell County’s furniture-manufacturing industry, a sprawling former Thomasville Furniture manufacturing complex in Lenoir is on the market for $6.5 million, offering a potential redevelopment opportunity for Caldwell County’s industrial economy.

The property at 315 Elizabeth St. NW includes approximately 800,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space on nearly 30 acres. The former furniture plant consists of multiple buildings that could accommodate manufacturing, warehousing, or distribution operations.

The $6.5 million asking price is advertised on commercial real estate platforms LoopNet and Crexi.

Thomasville Furniture Industries was part of Lenoir’s once-dominant furniture-manufacturing industry, which employed thousands of Caldwell County residents throughout the 20th century.

Although founded in Thomasville, the company maintained a substantial manufacturing presence in Lenoir, producing wooden residential and commercial furniture, including bedroom and dining room furnishings.

By 2006, Thomasville’s Lenoir operation was among the company’s remaining domestic furniture-manufacturing facilities. In 2007, parent company Furniture Brands International announced plans to consolidate production from a 325,000-square-foot factory in Thomasville into its Lenoir plant.

The company’s operations were part of a broader regional furniture industry that also included Broyhill, Bernhardt, Hammary, and Fairfield Chair. As manufacturers increasingly shifted production overseas during the 2000s, Lenoir experienced substantial industrial job losses. City records indicate that approximately 5,000 furniture jobs disappeared locally between 2000 and 2006.

The complex is approximately 22% to 25% occupied, according to commercial listings. The property includes loading docks, substantial electrical capacity, and access to U.S. 321 and Interstate 40.

— AVN