Caterpillar's Building Plans Get Green Light

Revised plans by Caterpillar for a new Product Development Center that would bring jobs to town has the conditional approval of the Board of Adjustment, meaning work can begin immediately.

The Town Council already gave its approval to the project last month.

Through the approval of the Board of Adjustment, the company will be allowed to use temporary buildings on the site for the next five years, with a variance granted to decrease the standard building setback distance. Company officials hope that economic conditions will improve enough during that time for construction on a permanent complex to go forward.

The temporary structures could be in place and ready for workers by the end of the year.

Earlier plans for a large two-story building have been deferred in favor of six temporary modular pods—five office buildings and a lab—that will be used until the company's financial condition improves. A 40-foot by 100-foot pre-engineered metal building will be built nearby to provide more space for product development now and space for parts storage and a washing area later.

The Board of Adjustment's ruling this week grants the company a variance, allowing a reduced building setback from twenty feet to eight feet. Caterpillar, whose decline in world-wide sales over the last couple of years has been attributed to the slow economy, says the "smaller footprint" will be more economical and require less disturbance to the environmentally-sensitive area in which the new buildings will be located.

The company plans to move more than 160 engineers and others from offices in Cary to the new complex on a 252-acre parcel of land near the intersection of NC 42 East and Glen Laurel Road. The site is located in a Watershed Protection Area, which means development must follow tighter rules with regards to minimizing impervious surface. Barnhill Contracting Company of Raleigh is the General Contractor on the project.

Construction is slated to begin next month on an access road to the site.