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The Industrial Commons is working to clean up the former Drexel Heritage Furniture Plants 3 and 5, located at 211 E. Fleming St., Morganton, which were destroyed in a fire in August 2009. The property will become the home of The Industrial Commons’ future Innovation Campus.

The Industrial Commons says it aims to help businesses connect and work together. As a nonprofit, its focus is on launching and nurturing community-owned businesses.

The Industrial Commons has previously said the campus will include spaces for the organization’s offices, several small to midsize manufacturing facilities, an incubator for emerging business, and training spaces for workers to learn and hone skills in industrial sewing and furniture making, as well as the Work in Burke program and creative art space in partnership with the arts program TOSS. TOSS is an art and community organization working with emerging artists and students.

There also will be a housing component to the development.

Sarah Crisp, director of communications for The Industrial Commons, said the organization plans to hold a groundbreaking on the project on June 12.

There is a lot of work that has happened and will happen to get the site ready for the build.

Crisp said there will be a lot of environmental remediation of asbestos and oil barrels that were in the ground at the site. An Industrial Commons video said three underground fuel tanks with 70,000 gallons of fuel, 334 tons of coal and 300 tons of asbestos were removed from the site. The foundations of Drexel 3 and 5 still stand along with a curved wall and dust tower, according to the video.

Part of the grant funding The Industrial Commons has received for the site is a Brownfields Cleanup Grant from the EPA. A brownfield is a property where there is the potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant, according to the EPA.

“They’ve done a lot of environmental cleanup and preparation so they can break ground and start on the actual construction of the building,� Crisp said.

The total funding the organization has received for the site is $26 million, which is being used for environmental remediation, cleanup and removal of the remaining old buildings debris, as well as grading and construction of the new 40,000-square-foot accelerator building, Crisp said.

Crisp said the next step for them on the project is technical development and design refinement.

The large majority of the accelerator building will be a warehouse, with office space at the front of the building. The warehouse area will serve as an incubation space for textile manufacturing, sustainability and small businesses, Crisp said.

She said it will take about two years before the building is move-in ready.

The Industrial Commons purchased its current building on Hopewell Road at the end of last year. While some things will remain at the Hopewell Road office, the majority of staff will move over to the Innovation Campus, Crisp said.

She said the initial plan is to construct one building, for now, for the Innovation Campus.

The campus will be on a 27.8-acre portion but there’s also plans for a cooperative housing area that The Industrial Commons has not started development on yet, Crisp said. The housing will sit on an additional 10 acres, she said.

The housing would be a mix of housing types such as townhomes, condos and single family homes on a land trust, Crisp said.

The premise is to have affordable housing for working class families that aren’t going to skyrocket in price over time, and give people an opportunity to own their own property within the land trust, she said.

Crisp said The Industrial Commons is working with architects to finalize a conceptual design to begin site work and determine how many units the area can accommodate.

In touch with the past

The Industrial Commons has been gathering stories from former workers at Drexel Heritage Furniture Plants 3 and 5.

Crisp said The Industrial Commons collected stories, photos and memorabilia from about 12 employees of the once thriving manufacturing facility. On May 2, a group of the former workers were photographed for the collection, she said.

Crisp said the employees are sharing their experiences and memorable stories of working at the plant, such as why they enjoyed working there and how it was impactful for their lives. She said one woman shared the badge she wore as an employee.

The organization is looking to collect more stories from people who worked there, she said.

“We want to celebrate the folks who have worked there in the past, like the memories that they have had as we revitalize the campus,� Crisp said. “And so we’ve been sharing those stories.�

So far, two of those stories have been shared on the organization’s social media, she said.

Crisp said the organization is discussing having a mini museum inside the Innovation Campus that includes the stories and memorabilia.

She said there are no solid plans for it yet.

“But that’s kind of our hope and dream is to have something there that represents the past,� Crisp said.

“I think we’re really excited to see the project move forward and have the groundbreaking,� Crisp said of the campus.

“And this is also a very important year for us, because it’s our 10-year anniversary as The Industrial Commons. And so I think it’s coming at a great time. It’s a celebration.�