Welcome to America’s Most Beautiful Industrial Park

Ferncliff Industrial Park is a 262-acre industrial park located in Henderson County, North Carolina on Ferncliff Park Drive in the town of Mills River. The United States of America has been transformed from a predominately rural, agricultural nation into an urbanized, industrial one. Today, over four-fifths of the U.S. population resides in urban areas, and it still is increasing.

Why This Matters

Today more communities are looking for an industrial park to not only create good sustainable jobs but also preserve the area’s natural beauty, culture, and character. When an industrial park is an environmentally friendly setting, the community has a valuable asset and role model to better preserve the area’s heritage along with improving its ability to keep its children locally employed.

So often folks compartmentalize economic development or community development, agriculture, environment, and culture into their separate silos. Ferncliff was designed to blend these together, and while it remains a very local design, the concept is widely applicable.

Access to the Full Report Ferncliff Park Design Guidelines

NC Site and LEED Certification
Ferncliff is a North Carolina Certified Site, a state-wide designation reserved only for high-potential industrial properties. NC Site Certification is a process designed to reduce the risks associated with development. Only a small percentage of industrial properties in North Carolina achieve this designation.

Buildings located in Ferncliff are required to be LEED-certified. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the world’s most widely used green building rating system. LEED certification provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings, which offer environmental, social, and governance benefits. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement.

Learn More About NC Site and LEED Certification Ferncliff Certifications

Ferncliff’s Economic Impact

A recently completed economic impact report clearly shows that Ferncliff Industrial Park is meeting its vision of new job creation and positive economic impact on the community.

Access to the Full Report Economic Impact of Ferncliff Industrial Park

Ferncliff’s History

The property at Ferncliff was part of the Rugby Grange farm which the owner’s family established in 1868. The family has been and is New Orleans–based but has always spent large parts of the year on the property. Ferncliff was the name of the land when it was acquired.

Over decades, the Ferncliff land was separated from the Rugby Grange farm by the Asheville airport, by I-26, and by inheritance. The older folks in Henderson County may remember the Green House which overlooked Fanning Bridge Road, and which served as the owner’s summer homestead. Ferncliff inculcated a love of the land and the community into the hearts of the owner’s family over many generations.

After the first sale in Ferncliff Industrial Park, the Green House was carefully deconstructed, and its lumber refurbished in Zirconia for use in the owner’s new houses north of Hendersonville.

Ferncliff serves as an innovative model for communities, government, and developers to create sustainable jobs and preserve an area’s natural beauty, culture, and character.