400 high-paying technology jobs coming to Danville

12:25 p.m. UPDATE:
A South Carolina developer is the new owner of the former Dan River Inc. Number 8 Mill, commonly referred to as the White Mill.

According to Danville City Manager Lyle Lacy, the White Mill is now owned by White Mill Development LLC — which is headed by Gibbs International Inc., of Spartanburg, S.C.

The developers have committed to bring $400 million in capital investment and 400 jobs to Danville as a result of the purchase. The annual payroll for those jobs will be at least $16 million, or about $40,000 per employee, plus benefits, when the development is complete — a process, officials warn, that could take several years.

Jeremy Stratton, director of the Danville Office of Economic Development, said financial commitments to the project from the Tobacco Commission, the Danville Regional Foundation, the city and the state were made to make the project possible.

The Tobacco Commission alone has invested $2.45 million in the project, said Delegate Danny Marshall, who is on the commission.

Details on possible tenants are not yet available, but Stratton said the question would be addressed at the official news conference at 3 p.m. today in Danville City Council chambers in the Municipal Building.

“This site will become the focal point for the transformation of our downtown, and it will bring the kind of jobs and investment to Danville that will benefit every single one of us who live in this great city,” said Mayor Sherman Saunders in a news release.

According to its Web site, Gibbs International is a 36-year-old company that conducts “business internationally as a trader of textile companies with a secondary business in industrial real estate.”

The site states that the company bought and sold more than 1,500 different properties, including unimproved commercial properties and redeveloped properties.

In addition to its real estate ventures, the site states that “Gibbs through its associates and international agents has become engaged in a myriad of global investments including renewable energy, power generation, oil exploration, currency and commodity hedging, as well as public infrastructure improvement projects.”

As many as 400 new jobs could be created with the help of a $2.5 million investment from the Tobacco Commission, Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, said Thursday. “The investment is contingent on it bringing 400 high-paying, high-tech jobs to Danville,” Marshall explained.

A formal announcement will be made at 3 p.m. in Danville City Council chambers on the fourth floor of the Municipal Building on Patton Street.

City Manager Lyle Lacy would not release the name of the purchaser prior to the official announcement, but said the development plan for the project would be part of the announcement. It is not known how the real estate transaction and development plan will affect adjourning properties along Memorial Drive.

The hulking, white-painted White Mill was originally built by Dan River Inc. in 1920. Starting in 1948, the “Home of Dan River Fabrics” sign towered over the river from a perch atop the White Mill. That iconic sign was damaged by high winds during a 2004 storm but was rescued in 2007 and represents an ongoing preservation project in Danville.