Development bringing jobs to Duncan area

One industry is under construction in Duncan, and two more are in the queue. Duncan Town Council recently approved two ordinances to annex contiguous property of about 75 acres located at 513 Robin Lake Road and 1345 Victor Hill Road with a zoning of GI, General Industry. The property is being sold by T. Walter Brashier. CRG, a St. Louis-based investment firm, is currently building a 324-acre site on Robinson Road, which could mean the creation of nearly 2,000 jobs. “It’s another great thing for Duncan,” Town Administrator Cameron Fant said. “We’ll have, in the run of only five or six months, three pretty good-sized companies coming to town.” These industries are helping the town to install sewer lines, according to Fant. “Ultimately, we want to have sewer available everywhere that the county and ACOG has allowed us to serve—us and Lyman now since we’ve sold our collection system to them,” Fant said. “These companies coming in really help us be able to have anybody that comes in our sewer service area get hooked up to sewer immediately,” he said. “That just makes us competitive and get some of this vacant land put into use. We’re super excited.” Fant said Duncan is an attractive destination for industry because of its location in the southeast region of the country, its position off I-85 as well as the surrounding municipalities reaching their limits. “The areas that we have available to offer are more industrial-type areas,” Fant said. “Our council has been very aggressive in trying to negotiate, make it beneficial for them to come to us, beneficial to the town as well. When we have more people on the tax rolls, it gives us more money to be able to do stuff in the town, to better service everybody, to keep growing.” For the past few years, Duncan has increased taxes the allotted CPI (consumer price index) plus population growth. “This time, we didn’t even do that much,” Fant said. “Council decided to go a little less than that.” “When we have a bigger revenue pot to do stuff with, to enhance our roads, to maybe add more Christmas lights, or do things to really make the town shine,” he said. “When we have the extra revenue, now we have the ability to do that, and it doesn’t cost them (residents) anymore because you have more players coming to the table, so to speak.” Events Center Duncan is also moving forward with plans to add an events center at Stoneledge Park, located at 119 South Spencer St., Duncan. “We had our mandatory pre-bid meeting for the events center,” Fant said. “We had quite a few people show up. The bids were due back the 23rd.” “We’re excited about that,” he said. The events center will be paid for through the hospitality fund, grant funding and a loan. “We’d like to start moving dirt September, if possible,” Fant said. The town also plans to add another parking lot and to make a connection with a festival street. “Our main street is not like your typical main street for an old town,” Fant said. “This is going to be the focal point for Duncan.” “We’re going to have a nice event center, roughly 3,500 square foot,” he said. Some functions of the events center could include high school reunions, wedding receptions and concerts. “Then, after we get this in place, we’re going to look to maybe expand the water park,” Fant said. Some ideas for the area include kiddie areas and bigger slides similar to Carowinds. “We don’t want to be Carowinds, but we would like to use this area to add a few more things that maybe nobody else around us has to offer,” Fant said. The water park is about ten years old. “It’s great to keep adding to it just to keep people wanting to come back,” Fant said. The plans to expand the water park are probably still a couple of years away. Council Action Barton Street: Duncan Town Council approved the first reading of an ordinance to annex property located at 488 Barton Street into the town limits with a zoning of R3 Residential for property owners Dennis and Anita Rose. Building Heights: Duncan Town Council approved the first reading of an ordinance for a text amendment to change the maximum building height from 35 to 85 feet for the following zones: Central Business District, General Business District, Research and Limited Industrial District and General Industrial District. Parking Requirements: Duncan Town Council approved the first reading of an ordinance for a text amendment to narrow the measurements for parallel parking lots to 9 feet wide, 18 feet deep, 162 feet total area and a 24-foot minimum drive isle. All parking lots with more than five parking spaces should be paved. Procurement Procedures: Duncan Town Council approved the first reading of an ordinance amending Duncan’s procurement procedures. kaelyn@greercitizen.com | 877-2076