Universal Logistics Holdings Eyes $50M Virginia Expansion

Earlier this year, SanMar Corp. leased the first speculative building at East Coast Commerce Center, an industrial campus in the Greater Richmond area. Image courtesy of Hanover County Economic Development

Universal Logistics Holdings Inc. has expanded into the Greater Roanoke, Va., area by purchasing a new industrial building. The 254,000-square-foot facility in Cloverdale will serve as the new location of the firm’s heavy truck division. The company will invest nearly $50 million in the expansion strategy and will create 45 new jobs in the area.

Project partners include Botetourt County, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Roanoke Regional Partnership. Universal’s expansion is also expected to create an additional 83 indirect new jobs and an economic impact of $43 million per year, according to Virginia Business.

Situated at 1796 Lee Highway on 37 acres, the facility once served as a distribution center for Southern States Cooperative. The property changed hands for $13.4 million, Botetourt County public records show, and will undergo a 12-month improvement process, designed to better serve the company’s third-party assembly, sequencing and other specialized services. Start of operations is slated for 2025.

Universal is not the only company expanding into Virginia. In March 2023, apparel manufacturer SanMar Corp. has committed to a 1.1 million-square-foot warehouse in the Greater Richmond area. SanMar is also investing $50 million to establish its operations at the park’s first speculative building.

In June 2023, Lovett Industrial announced the development plans for Enterprise Logistics Park, a 2.2 million-square-foot Class A industrial campus in James City County. Expected to become the largest speculative industrial development in the area, the 328-acre project will break ground early this year.