Two additional companies have moved in to the Cherokee Commerce Center in southwest Cherokee, and more good news is expected in the coming weeks.

Majestic Realty, the largest private developer of light industrial and warehouse buildings in the United States, has welcomed two new tenants to its 107-acre development at the intersection of Highway 92 and Interstate 75.

Consumer Product Services, which does remanufacturing and warranty work on consumer white goods, has moved into a 50,000-square-foot space.

The company is based in Long Island and has expanded into the Southeast with the opening of the Cherokee location this month. At the Cherokee facility, the staff will take in damaged appliances, rehabilitate them and send them to dealers.

Alan Michael, executive vice president of business development for Consumer Product Services, said he expects to create between 22 and 25 new jobs at the Cherokee location in the next year.

Curt Manufacturing, which distributes trailer hitches, is expected to move into a 34,000-square-foot space there in November.

Bob Roemer of Curt Manufacturing said the company is not commenting on the new location until the plant opens later this year.

Carr Carothers, director of development for Majestic, said agreements with four other tenants are "in the pipeline." He said he hopes to "get some positive news in the next 30 days" about other potential tenants.

The two companies join Peterson Aluminum, a metals service center for the architectural metals industry, as tenants of the park. Peterson signed a lease last year.

Cherokee Commerce Center, which was completed in spring 2009, includes five buildings totaling 680,000 square feet that will be filled with light commercial and warehouse tenants.

A second phase of the Cherokee Commerce Center located closer to Highway 92 is planned as retail space. Carothers said there are no immediate plans for development of that portion of the project.

Crucial to the attraction of new companies was the establishment of an opportunity zone in the community, officials said.

Earlier this year, the Department of Community Affairs approved an opportunity zone for Cherokee County that covers Highway 92 from I-75 east to Woodstock Road.

An opportunity zone is a developmental tool created in 2004 that allows local governments to provide tax incentives for economic development and revitalization of pockets of poverty. Carothers said news of the opportunity zone in Cherokee has permeated the business community.

"[The opportunity zone] has been a great way for us to get back out in front of tenants," Carothers said.

Michael said the opportunity zone was a factor in the company's decision to move to Cherokee.

"It is conveniently located. The 75 freeway is right there," he said of the development, adding that much of the company's business comes from Tennessee and south of Atlanta.