MORRISBURG – Safavieh Home Furnishings plans to build a 100,000 square foot warehouse in South Dundas, which will create approximately 50 jobs.
At the regular council meeting on February 14, a purchase agreement between Safavieh and the municipality was approved by council.
The 25.71 acres purchased by Safavieh are in the Morrisburg Industrial Park. It encompasses all remaining land that can be developed on the north side of Campbell Street from Prospect Road to the west.
The land was sold for $24,000 per acre, which equates to approximately $617,000.
Now that the agreement has been approved and signed, there is a 90 day period until the final closing of the sale.
“Since the services are already there, I don’t expect any problems,” said Rob Hunter, South Dundas Economic Development Officer, who has been working for about six months to attract this business to this municipality.
He explained that Safavieh is an American company located in Long Island, New York, which is looking to make inroads into the Canadian market.
“They sell high-end home furnishings,” Hunter said. “They will be a great addition to our business community.”
Hunter revealed that they were 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, depending on expanding as needed.
When asked how long development would take to kick off, Hunter replied that it depends on the company. He added that such developments usually take a few years.
Hunter said there will be a minimum of 50 jobs associated with the initial project with the potential for up to 150 jobs once they reach half a million square feet of industrial space.
hunter said The leader that South Dundas’ location between Montreal and Toronto, proximity to the 401 and the majority of services in place made it an attractive option for the company.
“I’m hopeful this will be the boost we need,” said South Dundas Deputy Mayor Kirsten Gardner. “It’s great that an American company chooses South Dundas to start its presence in Canada. I can’t wait to see the building go up.
“It’s nice to see we’ve sold the remaining property,” said South Dundas Councilor Donald Lewis.
“Congratulations to staff and council on attracting what is potentially a very big industry to South Dundas,” said South Dundas councilor Archie Mellan.
“I thank Rob (Hunter) for looking for this business,” said South Dundas Mayor Steven Byvelds. “Even though they are new to South Dundas, they are not new to the North American market.”
Byvelds recalled in 2007 that the council had a vision to open this industrial park land for sale, a project the municipality spent more than $1 million on. “We have finally reached the day when the reward has returned,” he said. “It’s good news to put in the newspaper this week, there’s no doubt about it. “
According to the company’s website, Safavieh has grown from a showroom on Madison Avenue to an international player with two million square feet of warehouse space and manufacturing facilities on three continents.
Its products are available from retailers in all 50 states, Canada, South America, Europe and Asia.