Major companies soon a reality in Cherokee
After another successful year of economic development in the county, three large corporations are soon set to open in Cherokee 75 Corporate Park along Highway 92, offering hundreds of jobs and investing $60 million in facilities.
Papa John’s Quality Control Center, Jaipur Living Global Headquarters and the Adidas SPEEDFACTORY are all set to open late spring or summer, according to Cherokee Office of Economic Development President Misti Martin.
The more than 74,000-square-foot Adidas factory is targeting production of 50,000 pairs in 2017, with an eventual annual production of about half a million pairs of shoes for running and other uses, the company said.
The state-of-the art facility will allow Adidas to create product more quickly and closer to U.S. consumers, the company said of its decision to locate close to the metro Atlanta area.
The Cherokee County factory will complement Adidas’ first SPEEDFACTORY in Germany. The U.S. and Germany facilities are operated by Adidas’ strategic partner Oechsler.
Jaipur Living, a family-owned, India-based carpet company globally known for its handmade rugs, broke ground in August on its new $22.3 million headquarters in southwest Cherokee County. When completed in May, phase 1 of the headquarters and warehouse will bring about 100 jobs to the community.
Papa John’s is set to locate its new regional production and distribution center to the county, creating 106 new jobs with an average wage of more than $60,000 per year.
The hub will supply more than 400 Papa John’s locations across seven states with dough, ingredients, paper products and cleaning supplies used by the pizza chain, according to a release. The company has 10 similar quality control centers located throughout the country.
“These locations alone represent roughly $60 million in capital investment and 400 jobs,” Martin said Friday.
COED Chairman Marshall Day said with each expansion and new location of corporations, there is a “testament to the positive business climate in our community.”
“The location of business is one of the main avenues in which we can reverse the 78 percent of out-commuting residents,” he said. “When business locates, they inject capital into our community by investing in their own operation and in their employee base. A new location also diversifies the tax base which is key to the success of any community. Just like an investment portfolio, diversification is key to long term success.”
Martin said throughout her 20-plus years in economic development, she has never seen a corporate park build out as quickly as Cherokee 75.
“We started moving dirt roughly three and half years ago at Cherokee 75 Corporate Park in preparation for the Inalfa Roof Systems project,” she said. “Since that time, over $150 million and 1,300 career opportunities have been announced and/or committed. Cherokee 75 Corporate Park is truly an economic development engine for the community and metro Atlanta region. It has and will continue to serve as a catalyst for further economic growth along the Cherokee 75 Corridor.”
Also, Martin said if Cherokee 75 Corridor were expanded in the future, the investment would be over $200 million and 1,500-plus jobs.
“In our recent ‘Year in Review,’ the theme was ‘GROW,’” Day said. “We have to grow to connect with the promise of our future. This is not about suburban sprawl. We are working an intentional strategic plan to be a more self-sustaining community. With a young and growing workforce and high ranks in healthcare, education, safety and lifestyle, it’s easy to understand why more and more corporations are choosing to locate to Cherokee.”
Martin said stay tuned to cherokeega.org for economic development news and happenings throughout the community.
Written by Sampson Jenkins
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