2 LaVergne sites likely in Dell's sights
Nashville Business Journal - by Richard Lawson
Dell Computer Corp. is considering two locations in LaVergne for the business operations it is bringing to Middle Tennessee, according to real estate officials.
One site is a 220-acre tract of undeveloped land owned by Charlotte-based developer Crescent Resources. It is located at the corner of Waldron Road just off Interstate 24, say real estate industry representatives.
The second site is a bit farther down I-24 at Mid-South Logistec Center, which is being developed by Ozburn-Hessey Development. That site has about 230 acres available and includes such residents as Allegan, Mich.-based personal care products maker Perrigo Co.
Both sites, however, apparently fall short of Dell's requirement. Real estate officials say Dell wants 350 acres.
More land is available around both sites in the LaVergne area, officials say.
Crescent Resources officials wouldn't comment nor would officials with Industrial Real Estate Services, which represents Mid-South Logistec Center.
Beyond potential manufacturing space, Dell officials have been looking for temporary general office space in the 80,000 to 100,000-square-foot range, real estate officials say. Dell isn't focusing on any one area for the space.
"They're looking at everything," one official says. "They're all over the map."
Round Rock, Texas-based Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) announced April 1 that it plans to establish an operation in Middle Tennessee that complements its operations in Austin and Round Rock. Company officials have been working with state and local government and economic development officials in finding a location and discussing the completion of telecommunications and transportation infrastructure within certain time frames.
Dell has two locations in Round Rock that total 940 acres. The sites include three manufacturing buildings and its headquarters operations.
The mail-order computer company has been mum about what kind of operation it plans to bring to the Nashville area. But indications are that it will involve light manufacturing.
The company wants to be operational in the latter part of this year. As such, real estate officials say Dell representatives want to move swiftly and have been putting in long hours looking at many sites in the 10-county area surrounding Nashville.
Since the company wants to set up operations so quickly, it may need temporary space until buildings could be built, and Dell representatives have been exploring options. One requirement, officials say, is that a building have a cross-dock type of system in which dock doors are located on both sides of the building.
Such a design allows for more efficient handling of products passing through a facility. In a cross-dock building, product or supplies come in one side, get assembled or stored, and are shipped out of the other side.
Ozburn-Hessey builds facilities with the cross-dock capability and currently has a 450,000-square-foot building under construction.
Dell also has a high parking requirement, real estate officials say. Both requirements would indicate that Dell plans to put a light manufacturing plant in the Nashville area, officials note.
Richard Lawson can be reached at 615-248-2222, ext. 109, or by e-mail at (rlawson@amcity.com).
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