<< Back 8/21/02 Drake’s growth prompts purchase of NP&L building in Franklin SMN Drake Enterprises will obtain the Duke Power building on U.S. 441N that was built as the Nantahala Power and Light headquarters in 1997. The sale, for which an agreement was signed last week, will occur when Duke receives regulatory approval. “The Duke Power building and adjacent parking area will meet our growing needs for the foreseeable future,” said Ginger Stork, Drake Enterprises’ marketing manager. “Our core business, Drake Software, has simply outgrown its current location on Palmer Street. Approximately 100 software employees will move to the new building, while the remainder will continue to work from their current offices in downtown Franklin. “The purchase of this new building and room to grow demonstrates our commitment to operating businesses that provide good jobs in Macon County,” she said. Drake Enterprises currently employs 455 people. The business is a spin-off of the late Clyde Drake’s accounting and tax firm, which began in Franklin in 1954. Drake Software was formed in 1977, when his son, Phil Drake, created and began marketing professional income tax software for preparers. Approximately 13,000 companies across the nation now use Drake Software. Drake plans to occupy the top half of the two-story, 35,000-square-foot building in early September. Duke Power will lease back the bottom floor for a customer call center, computer services, engineering, and management offices. “No jobs will be lost as a result of this sale and we expect the required moves to be virtually transparent to customers,” said Duke General Manager Fred Alexander. “In making the transition from NP&L to part of a larger utility, we no longer needed to duplicate locally such functions as accounting, training, safety, purchasing and personnel.”