Thomas Russell
HIGH POINT — In a further show of support for the furniture industry, the High Point City Council approved a $305,000 incentives package for

Legacy Classic to locate a 347,000-square foot headquarters and distribution center in High Point.

The case goods importer now leases a 225,000-square foot warehouse and administrative offices in Whitsett, a town east of here.

It is considering spending more than $18 million to build a new facility on Penny Road in High Point’s Premier Center office park. The facility, which would open in March, would have 307,000 square feet of warehouse and distribution space and 40,000 square feet of offices. It would employ 120 people initially and perhaps more in the future.

At a public hearing on the incentives proposal on Monday, company President and CEO Kevin O’ Connor said Legacy also is considering another site closer to its current location. That is attractive because it would encourage more current employees to stay with the company, he said.

If it moves to High Point, the company may lose as many as 25% of its current employees, many of whom have been with the company since it formed in early 1999, he said.

O’Connor was not available for comment after the meeting, so it wasn’t immediately clear if the company will take the city up on its offer.

Still, he said during the hearing that the company was excited about the idea of moving to High Point. As the business grows, he said, he sees the facility growing as large as 500,000 square feet.

“We want to grow 60% to 70% beyond where we are today,” he said, noting that Legacy doesn’t plan a West Coast distribution facility. “All of our growth, we see coming through North Carolina. We are excited about it and hope you are too.”

O’Connor, a 35-year industry veteran who has lived in the High Point area for 23 years, said he considers High Point as the capital of the furniture industry thanks largely to the number of designers and suppliers in the city.

He said the move also would place Legacy within about a mile of sister company Universal Furniture, which also has a warehouse and administrative offices in High Point. The two companies are owned by Chinese case goods manufacturer Lacquer Craft Furniture, whose parent company is Samson Holding.

Some city council members voiced concern with the incentives deal, especially considering the financial well being of Samson Holding. They also said they believed that the company would have chosen High Point without any offer of financial incentives.

However, Councilman Michael Pugh was the only one to vote against the deal.

“I would like them to come to High Point and think they would be an asset for High Point,” he said after the meeting. “I just think it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars to give them incentive money when they were going to come here anyway.”

Others voted for the incentives as a further show of support of the industry and the High Point furniture market.

“High Point wants to attract strong industry leaders,” said Councilman Latimer Alexander. “We want to make sure everyone recognizes our commitment to that.”

In other action, the council approved raising the furniture showroom tax from 6 cents per square foot of showroom space to 15 cents, raising an additional $1 million for the furniture Market Authority. The amount is in addition to $1 million of m