Business park coming to Chelsea

As the city of Chelsea continues to grow, so do the opportunities for new businesses. 

In April, the Chelsea City Council voted to approve a contract to purchase 12.2 acres of land from Honea Properties with the intent of building a new business park. Combined with property the city already owned, the space will total around 15 acres. 

“The property was purchased with the intent of building the Foothills business park,” Mayor Tony Picklesimer said. “It will be a commercial area strictly for offices and businesses. While the official name has not been decided yet, I am excited about the possibilities and look forward to watching that piece of property transform into a business park for our city.”

The entrance for the development is off Chesser Drive, between Fire Station 31 and the new Station 31 Kitchen restaurant. A road would be created to go up the hill and tie into Foothills Place. 

After the land purchase was approved, the city contracted with a geotechnical company to perform an environmental analysis to make sure the land below the surface would be conducive for the project. 

“We wanted to do some punching to make sure there’s not a huge rock that would greatly increase our development cost,” Picklesimer said. 

Even though the project is still in its early stages, Picklesimer said there has already been interest expressed by developers to partner with the city.

How the area will look is still under consideration, but Picklesimer said one of the developers he has met with discussed a multi-use option with offices upstairs and retail on bottom, similar to Mt. Laurel. The first rendering for the project had six plots, with an average of 2.5 acres each. 

“The lines aren’t drawn, so if someone needs five acres, they could get it,” Picklesimer said. “The lot sizes are flexible.”

The first step in the process will be to build an entrance and create a road, and then begin selling. 

Picklesimer added, “We are not out to make a profit on this project, but to create jobs.”

Scott Weygand, owner of Weygand Insurance agency and a member of the Chelsea City Council, said this project has been a joint effort with the council. 

“Hopefully we can put a large business there with lots of employees,” Weygand said. “Our goal is to bring in some of larger businesses to increase daytime population to help out with other business in the city. We’re just waiting on the soil study to decide if we can move forward or not. If we do, we will be ready to go and start putting in road and getting things prepared to subdivide.”

“Foothills business park is exciting,” Picklesimer said. “I would like to think it will be the first of more than one in the coming years. We want to create reasons for people to be in Chelsea during the day.”

Businesses interested in the development can contact City Hall for more information.