Building demand pushes longtime Raleigh roofers into Garner

In another sign of the region's construction boom, Baker Roofing Co. has outgrown its headquarters in Raleigh for the past 46 years and has bought a vacant shopping center anchor store space in Garner.

The company has been based in Raleigh since it was founded in 1915, and has grown into one of the nation's leading roofing contractors, concentrated in six southeastern states. It has been in its current location on Mercury Street south of downtown since 1972. It will be moving about 3 1/2 miles south into the former Kmart building at 4300 Fayetteville Road (U.S. 401) in Garner.

Garner officials are heralding the move as having the potential to spark development along the commercial corridor.

“When Kmart left Garner in 2013, it left a large space to fill in our community," Joe Stallings, Garner's economic development director, said in a statement the town released. "By locating Baker Roofing’s corporate headquarters in this space, we not only bring life back to a struggling center, we also are bringing a national company with a great reputation to our community."

The company has grown to about 250 employees who work in the headquarters, not counting those in the field. That became a challenge to find enough parking for them, Baker Roofing Chairman Prentice Baker III said Friday. In addition, the company has had equipment stashed in multiple locations.

"It's a growing business," Baker said. "We're hiring every week."

The past 10 years have seen a marked uptick in the company's business, he said.

The move into a 170,000-square-foot building on 29 acres will be preceded by extensive renovations over two years, and will require town planning staff approval. A Sears outlet store is currently a tenant in the building. The Raleigh location on close to five acres is only a little more than 44,000 square feet.

A gas station will likely be torn down at the new site as well, Baker said.

A spokesman for the town said public financial incentives were not offered. Baker Roofing paid $8.6 million for the property earlier this month. The Raleigh headquarters was last appraised at $4 million.

"We're excited about it," Baker said.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Building demand pushes longtime Raleigh roofers into Garner."