HMI, parent company of Pulaski and Samuel Lawrence furniture brands, to expand headquarters into 48,000 sq. ft. facility in High Point, North Carolina, by April 2015; company says business up 30% this year, expects to grow job numbers

Aimee Bellah

HIGH POINT, North Carolina , May 12, 2014 (press release) – Construction of a new office building will enable two of High Point's corporate headquarters to expand.

Developer Robin Team, president of Carolina Investment Properties, plans to start construction within 45 days on a 48,000-square-foot building in the Premier Center business park in north High Point.

The location is across the street from the three-story building in Premier Center that houses the headquarters of Home Meridian International and Bank of North Carolina.

Home Meridian will relocate to the new building when it's complete in April 2015. Bank of North Carolina will take over the space Home Meridian now occupies.

Home Meridian is parent company of furniture brands Pulaski Furniture, Samuel Lawrence Furniture, Samuel Lawrence Hospitality and Prime Resources International.

Its headquarters will occupy about 24,000 square feet of the new facility, with a lease commitment of seven years.

"Since our founding in 2006, HMI has experienced tremendous growth. This move will allow us to organize our office in the most efficient way, as well as provide us with the ability to grow as needed, both organically and with acquisitions," said CEO George Revington. "This move also reaffirms our commitment to the High Point community."

The company could not definitively say whether any jobs will be created with the relocation, but did state that its business is up 30 percent this year and "as our business continues to grow, our employment will reflect this."

Bank of North Carolina, which occupies two of the three floors in its building, will take over the third floor once Home Meridian relocates. The move will allow it to consolidate support staff from existing sites in the area, said Chief Marketing Officer Bob Huckabee.

"We've grown exponentially since 2008," he said. "We're just on top of each other, so getting everybody in one building is much better for efficiencies, communications and all our executive meetings."

Once the consolidation is complete, the company estimates 160 to 175 people will work in the building.

Home Meridian will be the anchor tenant in the new building, occupying about half the space. Team said the rest will be offered for lease for other tenants in the future.

"It's going to be nice to have a Class A, first-generation space available for companies in the Triad to consider. There hasn't been a whole lot of new speculative construction, so we feel confident we'll be able to lease it fairly quickly," said Team.

High Point Economic Development Corp. President Loren Hill said the project will add to the city's tax base.

"We are especially pleased with this latest announced project of Carolina Investment Properties," said Hill. "Our office has worked with both Home Meridian International and Bank of North Carolina over the years. We're proud each is expanding."

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(c)2014 The High Point Enterprise (High Point, N.C.)

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