STARKVILLE — New jobs will be coming to the Golden Triangle after Starkville approved the sale of city-owned land Friday.
Oregon-based Columbia Industries, an equipment manufacturer, sought the land and buildings at 101 Airport Road in Starkville where the old Kirby Building Systems resided. Because the buildings were owned by Kirby and the land by Starkville, Columbia needed approval for the transaction.
With Kirby agreeing to sell the buildings earlier last week, the city approved the sale of its land to Columbia by a 6-0 vote at a special call session Friday. Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver was not in attendance.
Columbia purchased the 28.7-acre property for $2.95 million, with Starkville receiving $796,500 of the share. Starkville Board Attorney Chris Latimer said the property was no longer needed for municipal related purposes, and in the adopted motion, the city agreed the sale would promote and foster economic growth and development of the community.
Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins said the LINK has been working with Columbia for several months because it had extreme attraction to Starkville.
“We’ve been working on a project and they have shown interest in the area,” Higgins told The Dispatch. “They made an offer for that building this week.”
Columbia creates construction-related products, and the open layout of the property will allow the company to operate with ease, Higgins said.
“If anyone has ever been to a power plant or (seen) an agricultural grain elevator or even a landfill, you see this equipment where the tractor and the trailer pull up on it,” Higgins said. “They lock the truck down, the driver gets out and dumps it — they make those.”
Higgins said the company hopes to employ 65-75 individuals, with annual salaries of around $45,000 to $55,000. The welding jobs, he said, will create products for the solid waste and oil field industries.
Columbia is currently working with East Mississippi Community College to recruit individuals who have graduated from the school’s welding program, and Higgins said the company has already received a few recommendations on people who may be interested in working there.
Higgins said the company has 60 days to do its due diligence, which includes title work and conducting environmental evaluations. Then Columbia has 15 days to close on the property.
He said he believes Columbia will need around a year to get the company up and running.
“We’re happy for Starkville and Oktibbeha County,” Higgins said. “We’ve been working with these guys since June of last year. I don’t think some people realize how long it takes to do deals.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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