Bethany Fuller | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 28, 2008

When Lowe’s Companies Inc. tapped Mooresville to be the future home of its corporate campus in 2001, it helped bridge a gap Iredell County had for quite some time.

County Manager Joel Mashburn cals that decision a milestone in the county’s transformation.

Lowe’s wanted to be closer to Charlotte and a large talent pool. Mooresville wanted the high-end professional jobs and tax base the Fortune 50 company brought promised.

Lowe’s officials considered sites in Dallas, Chicago, Jacksonville, Fla., Raleigh, Columbus, Ohio, and Atlanta before picking the site in Mooresville.

Mooresville was selected because it was an easy commuting distance from Wilkes County, where Lowe’s previous headquarters was located, it offered a good quality of life and it was close to a metropolitan area, said Lowe’s spokeswoman Karen Cobb.

The nation’s second-largest home improvement retailer purchased 135 acres off Exit 33 in 2001 and has been building ever since.

Today, the Mooresville campus covers 235 acres and has a 7-acre lake. 

The nearly completed campus brought in a new group of professionals and talent to the area and will accommodate up to 12,000 people when it is completed, according to a news release.

In order to make the transition easier for employees still living in Wilkes County, Lowe’s offers a free commuter bus to Mooresville.

Drivers on Interstate 77 can see the ongoing construction on two seven-story towers totaling approximately 700,000 square feet and two parking decks. The two buildings, which are scheduled to be completed later this year, can house 2,300 employees.

Once completed, the new office space will house about 500 information technology employees, currently working at Lowe’s other offices, Cobb said.

The expansion will also provide work area for existing departments that have outgrown their space, and accommodate future growth of Mooresville-based support of Lowe’s more than 1,525 stores in the U.S. and Canada and store expansion into Mexico.

Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce President Karen Shore said Lowe’s is aware of its impact on the community and has tried to help the community during the transition.

Shore said the company has donated money to Iredell-Statesville Schools and Mooresville Graded School District.

“I can only imagine how much (Lowe’s is) going to do,” she said. “They encourage their employees to volunteer and get involved with community projects. They definitely have an impact on a wide variety of other industries.”

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