MORRISBURG – Safavieh Home Furnishings has plans to build a 100,000 square foot warehouse in South Dundas which will bring with it about 50 jobs.
At the February 14 regular council meeting, a purchase agreement between Safavieh and the municipality was approved by council.
The 25.71 acres purchased by Safavieh is in the Morrisburg Industrial Park. It encompasses all the remaining land that can be developed on the north side of Campbell Street from Prospect Road all the way west.
The land was sold for $24,000 an acres, which amounts to about $617,000.
Now that the agreement has been approved and signed there is a 90 day period until final closure of the sale.
“Since the services are already there, I don’t expect any issues,” said South Dundas economic development officer Rob Hunter, who has been working to attract this company to this municipality for about six months.
He explained that Safavieh is an American company located on Long Island, New York looking to make a foray into the Canadian market.
“They sell high end home furnishings,” said Hunter. “They will be a great addition to our business community.”
Hunter revealed that they are looking to initially build a 100,000 square foot warehouse space in the Morrisburg Industrial Park, with an option to eventually expand to 500,000 square feet of warehouse space, expanding as needed.
Asked how long the development will take to get started, Hunter said that is up to the company. He added that such developments usually take a couple of years.
Hunter said there will be a minimum 50 jobs associated with the initial project with the potential for up to 150 jobs once they expand to half a million square feet of industrial space.
Hunter told The Leader that South Dundas’ location between Montreal and Toronto, proximity to the 401 and having the majority of the services in place made this an attractive option for the company.
“I’m optimistic this will hopefully be the boost in the arm we need,” said South Dundas deputy mayor Kirsten Gardner. “It’s fabulous to have an American company choose South Dundas to start its footprint in Canada. I’m looking forward to seeing the building go up.”
“It’s nice to see we have sold the remaining property,” said South Dundas councillor Donald Lewis.
“Kudos to staff and council for attracting what is potentially a very large industry to South Dundas,” said South Dundas councillor Archie Mellan.
“I thank Rob (Hunter) for seeking out this business,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds. “As much as they are new to South Dundas they are not new to the North American market.”
Byvelds recalled in 2007 council having a vision to open that industrial park land up for sale, a project on which the municipality spent upwards of $1 million. “We’ve finally hit the day when the payoff has come back,” he said. “This is a good news story to put in the paper this week, there’s no doubt about it. “
According to the company’s website, Safavieh has grown from one showroom on Madison Avenue to become an international player with two million square feet of warehouse space and manufacturing facilities on three continents.
Its products are available through retailers in all 50 states, Canada, South America, Europe and Asia.
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