A 30-acre plot of land that was once home to the Ceco Metal Building Systems plant on Highway 45 has a new owner.
Realtor Scott Farmer confirmed to The Dispatch a sale of the land, which was on the market for at least a year, closed on Thursday. Farmer declined to disclose the sale price.
A deed filed with the Lowndes County Tax Assessor’s office lists Grandview Investments, LLC, as the new owner. Geraldine Davis of Columbus is registered as Grandview Investment’s president, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office. The Dispatch could not reach Davis for comment.
Ceco Operations Manager Gregg Smith said the company will maintain a presence on the property while determining where locally to move its operations offices. The Columbus location is one of three support offices for Ceco, with the others in Rocky Hill, North Carolina, and Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Ceco has plants across the United States and in Mexico, Smith said.
“We built metal buildings here for a number of years,” he said. “Back in 2008 or 2009 when the economy hit (recession), this location — the plant — was closed down. We’ve had a full operation staff here since then of around 50 or 60 employees. We’ve got full operations — customer service, engineering, estimating, drafting, purchasing, field service. There’s still a large group of people here that supports the operations of Ceco Building Systems.
“Our full intention is to be here in this area,” he said. “We just don’t need 329,000 square feet of space to do the operations side of the business.”
For the time being, Ceco is leasing office space from Grandview Investment at the site. Farmer noted the large warehouse on the property is also available for a tenant to lease.
“This is incredible property at a great location,” Farmer said. “Our investor found it to be a great opportunity. Ceco is staying as a tenant, and the manufacturing warehouse space and surrounding property will be available for development.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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