Groundbreaking day — Ashley Homestore becomes first to enter Red Hills Business Park
Published 4:15 pm Tuesday, April 12, 2022
- The first shovels of dirt are tossed into the air Tuesday morning to celebrate the first groundbreaking to take place at Red Hills Business Park, Ashley Homestore’s planned distribution center. The center will be a 150,000 square foot building and will be a state-of-the-art campus, Thomasville Payroll Development Authority executive director Shelley Zorn said.
THOMASVILLE — It was the first of what is hoped to be a string of groundbreakings Wednesday morning at the Red Hills Business Park.
The park’s first occupant to turn the ceremonial shovels was Ashley Homestore, which will build a distribution center at the park adjacent to Highway 319.
Ashley Homestore is making a $20 million investment at its planned distribution center, which will encompass 150,000 square feet. The center also will employ 95 people.
“We love Thomasville. We love Thomas County,” said Russell Turner, CEO of Ashley Homestore. “We’re real proud of it.”
The first tenant of Red Hills Business Park also does things in a first-class fashion, Thomasville Payroll Development Authority executive director Shelley Zorn said.
“We’ve seen what he’s done with 1915 South,” she said, noting Ashley’s complex on West Jackson Street. “He sets the bar high, and we’re just thrilled he’s here.”
Thomasville Mayor Jay Flowers also pointed to the effect Turner and his company have had on the community.
“They are impacting every one of our non-profits across the community,” he said. “They believe in this community and they believe in Thomasville. They invest every day in our community.
“His foot print is very broad but his heart is in Thomasville.”
State Rep. Darlene Taylor (R-Thomasville) also espoused the benefit the new distribution center will have.
“This means so much to our community,” she said. “This is what it’s all about. This is Thomasville — we are living up to what people think are. Across the state, everybody understands Thomasville is a jewel. But it works because of you — it’s our community, it’s our leadership.”
Red Hills was created well before Zorn came to Thomasville as a collaboration between the city and county governments. Getting the first company to break ground — and with such a significant investment — is a welcome addition for the PDA.
“This is the jump start. This is setting the bar for everybody else,” Zorn said. “We have some other things in the pipeline, but when people see this activity at the front of the park, we’ll get more prospects, more calls.”
Work on the distribution center is expected to take nine to 12 months.
