GRANITE QUARRY — While it doesn’t yet know what the incentives request will be, the town of Granite Quarry looks to have a hot prospect for a speculative building in the industrial park off Heilig Road.

The Rowan Economic Development Commission has told town officials that the company — code-named “Project Profile Trail” — is an existing employer in Rowan County looking to expand by 191 jobs here over the next three years.

Of those 191 jobs, 20 would be relocated from South Carolina, and 171 would be new ones.

Scott Shelton, vice president of the Rowan EDC, told the Granite Quarry Board of Aldermen on Monday night the jobs, if they come, will pay “a pretty good wage.” He said the employer is “an up-and-coming company” that could make a decision whether to go with the Granite Quarry Industrial Park building by the end of September.

Shelton asked that Monday’s public hearing on the proposed development be put off until the town board’s September meeting, because the company’s final investment amount has yet to be determined.

The EDC initially put the new investment in construction and equipment at $2 million, but Shelton said Monday it could be substantially more than that.

The investment amount will be used to determine what tax incentives both the town and county will offer the company.

The town board held a public hearing on the project anyway because it had been advertised for Monday night. No one spoke for or against Project Profile Trail, and aldermen agreed to continue the discussion at their September meeting.

In another matter Monday night, numerous residents showed up to express concerns about a small subdivision mapped out near the intersection of Kerns and Yadkin streets.

A five-lot subdivision has been approved, with lots ranging from 0.33 acres to 0.51 acres. No plan has been submitted for the single-family houses, which neighbors fear will be too small.

“There are all kinds of rumors flying around that they’re going to be small houses,” said James Finger of Kerns Street.

He said residents want protection from a possible development that could devalue their properties, and they would like to see something built that’s more “comparable to what’s in our neighborhood.”

One new house on that property may not be so bad, but five is another matter, Finger said.

Another resident noted that five new houses generally equal 10 new cars on the streets, and she also argued that houses of 1,000 square feet or less would hurt property values of surrounding homes.

Town Planner Steve Blount said five lots are the maximum that could be carved out of the property in question. As of now, he added, the town has no idea what size single-family homes are planned.

“These lots on average are larger than most in the area,” Blount said, and he gave examples close by, including Mayor Bill Feather’s home on Kerns Street. The mayor’s house, while sizable, sits on 0.53 acres.

Feather reiterated for the crowd that no houses have been mapped out by the potential builder, who was not identified Monday night.

“There’s a little bit of anxiety by not knowing,” Feather added. “I’m hearing the same rumors everyone else has.”

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.