Premium content from Charlotte Business Journal – by Ken Elkins, Senior staff writer

A Cornelius developer is planning a $35 million business park in the Indian Land community and already has his first tenant.

The Knox Group Inc. expects Rosemont to include up to 230,000 square feet of offices — and possibly some retail space — on 21 acres.

Verian Technologies is the anchor tenant for the first building at the S.C. Highway 160 site. The software company will occupy the top floor of a 25,000-square-foot building that’s under construction. Verian plans to move into the building in late May. It’s relocating from the Ben Craig Center in the University area.

The first floor is being marketed for lease.

“We hope this will be the first of many that we will build down there,” says Charles Knox Jr., Knox Group president.

Verian executives — Tehseen Ali Dahya, chairman; Bilal Soylu, chief technology officer; and Bhavin Shah, director of product strategy — are also principals in the limited liability company that’s developing Rosemont.

Knox feels there’s demand for small-business space in northern Lancaster County, perhaps drawn from Charlotte by state and county incentives.

“We feel like our timing is really good,” he says.

Rosemont could hold as many as 11 buildings and about 900 parking spaces. The site includes an outparcel that could be offered to a bank. Those buildings would likely range from 7,000 to 80,000 square feet, Knox says.

Rosemont is being developed on land west of U.S. Highway 521 that is adjacent to a residential community. McCar Homes of Alpharetta, Ga., originally planned to build homes there.

Instead, Lancaster County required a commercial development on the land closest to S.C. 160. McCar is building up to 334 homes behind the commercial project. Those homes are priced from the mid-$200,000s.

Matthew Construction Co. Inc. is building Verian’s new headquarters at 1245 Rosemont Drive.

kelkins@bizjournals.com

Source:The Charlotte Business Journal