FORMER ROWE FURNITURE PLANT ON MARKET

The former Rowe Furniture manufacturing plant at Morehouse is officially on the market for sale.  This is according to commercial broker; Tom Kelsey with Lorimont Place, Ltd. in Cape Girardeau who has been enlisted to sell the property for the Virginia based furniture manufacturing company.

Kelsey said the 90,000 square-foot building located at 102 Front Street in Morehouse would be marketed nationally and internationally by his brokerage firm.  The property includes over 106 acres of land and would be suitable for either another manufacturing facility or could be converted to a warehouse or distribution center.

Rowe announced last September that they were filing for bankruptcy protection resulting in the closure of both of their Missouri manufacturing plants in Poplar Bluff and Morehouse.  The decision cost the region over 400 jobs last November.

Kelsey, a real estate broker since 1974 is no stranger to finding buyers and tenants for vacant area industrial properties.  He has sold 9 large manufacturing or warehouse buildings, representing over one million square feet within the last 24 months in Southeast Missouri.  Five of these properties were located in Scott County including the Supervalu and Mid-South Wire buildings in Scott City, two in Sikeston with the Patriot Homes plant and former Media Press property and the former Columbia Sportswear plant in Chaffee.  His large building inventory currently includes the Dana Plant in Cape Girardeau and the former Gleason Manufacturing plant in Caruthersville, Missouri.

Similar marketing and networking with other industrial brokers will be utilized on the Rowe property in order to give it adequate national exposure and awareness to prospective buyers and tenants.  Working with state and local economic development agencies will also be important.  The Lorimont website shows the property listed at $980,000 that includes the 106 acres of land.