The North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) awarded $1 million to Harnett County and Greensboro to prepare rail-served industrial sites recently.
Part of NCRR’s Build Ready Sites grant program, the $500,000 grants will help the two communities address development barriers and prepare properties for prospective industrial customers.
“The best time to prepare for an economic development opportunity is before it arrives,” Carl Warren, president and CEO of NCRR said. “Build Ready Sites gives communities the resources to reduce development risk and put stronger sites in front of companies looking to invest in North Carolina.”
In Harnett County, the grant will help bring an 83-acre site to the market at the Byrd Industrial Sites in Lillington. The grant will support engineering and clearing and grading of an access road to make the property accessible for rail-served manufacturers. The 83-acre site, of which 58 acres are developable, is one of three sites on the 224-acre property. Two of the sites are rail-served.
“Preparing and protecting rail-served sites puts Harnett County in a smaller pool of communities that compete for manufacturers requiring rail,” Stephen Barrington, Harnett County’s economic development director, said. “We are grateful for North Carolina Railroad’s investment and partnership in helping us advance the Byrd Industrial Sites, ultimately spurring new jobs in our community.”
The city of Greensboro will use its grant to prepare the Reedy Fork Industrial Site – 132 acres near Summit Avenue and Brown Summit Road in Guilford County. The site includes five tracts being prepared for future industrial development. The Build Ready Grant will support clearing and grading on the property.
“Having strong industrial sites ready when opportunities arise is important to Greensboro’s continued growth,” Marshall Yandle, Greensboro economic development manager, said. “NCRR’s investment is a valuable partnership as we prepare this property for future development. This support will help us move the site forward and give prospective employers greater certainty as they evaluate Greensboro for their operations.”
NCRR said it is already accepting applications for its next round of grants. The application window will close on Oct. 2, officials said.