ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Board of Commissioners approved the sale of two properties during its November meeting.
The first was a 5.56 acre parcel at 10 EV Hogan Drive, off of N.C. 177 north of Hamlet, to Florida-based Universal Window Coverings.
The measure came following a public hearing and the adoption of three related resolutions: to retain the property for economic development purposes; to ratify a lease agreement; and authorizing the sale.
Documents show the county purchased the property in June of 2023 and Richmond County Economic Development entered into a lease agreement with UWC in September of 2025.
According to one of the resolutions, UWC offered to pay $675,000 — $99,000 more than the market value — less rental credits pursuant to the lease agreement.
“Our facility in Hamlet — and more importantly, the people who come to work there — every day has been a blessing to our company,” said Doug Kern, co-owner of UWC.
“Things have worked out much better than we could have hoped,” Kern said regarding the 14 months of leasing, with the option to purchase.
Kern said UWC started with five employees and now has 20 at the Hamlet facility, “and we see a significant opportunity to continue to grow the business over there.”
“Owning this property will cement our business in the area,” Kern said, adding that UWC will continue to invest in its operation, employees and the community. “We sincerely appreciate your support in allowing us to make Hogan Drive our permanent home here.”
The board also conveyed the half-acre property on Bridges Street to Helping Hands of Hamlet, which operates the Back Pack Pals program, for $1.
As discussed in a prior meeting, ownership of the building would allow the charitable organization to apply for grants to upgrade the facility.
The county will retain an access and utility easement, per the resolution. Helping Hands can only use the building for the Back Pack Pals program and cannot use the building for collateral. If that were to happen, the property would revert back to the county.
Although they weren’t discussed, there were two financial items included in the consent agenda.
First, the county accepted a $150,000 State Reserve Grant from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality to perform and Asset Inventory and Assessment study related to the Cordova wastewater project.
Also during the meeting, commissioners:
This meeting was the board’s first in the new chambers of the Richmond County Governmental Complex on Midway Road.
The RO plans to have more from the meeting in future articles.
