Economic Development Director Jeff Wood delivered both good news and a sobering message to Craven County Commissioners this week — while businesses continue to expand their reach, the land to accommodate that growth is quickly being depleted.
Appearing before the board at their September 5 meeting, Wood announced that local manufacturer Phantom CNC Systems of Vanceboro had provided an offer to purchase 6.022 acres of land in Craven County Industrial Park for $150,550.
A public hearing was held on the matter during which no one came forward to speak. The board unanimously approved the sale of the property, which is located on the northern side of the park.
According to the resolution approved by the board, the company intends to construct a 14,000 square foot facility to be valued at $1.3 million with the potential to invest more. The resolution states that Phantom CNC Systems expects to bring on up to 70 new employees over the next three years.
But while the growth of new businesses at Industrial Park is a boon for the county’s tax base, only 50 acres remains for development, Woods said.
“We’re in desperate need of property development on an ongoing basis,” Wood told commissioners.
Wood said he recently had a new lead on a company out of New Jersey that requested a location as small as 5,000 square feet in Craven County.
“I was struggling to try to figure out where that could go,” Wood said. “That kind of shows you how small our real estate picture is right now.”
Wood said several private developers have also expressed interest in lots at the Industrial Park for the construction of spec buildings that could be marketed to businesses.
“It’s something we desperately need and we’ll have to continue to look for future industrial sites,” Wood commented.
Wood said a double-edged sword for the county is the continuing low unemployment rate, which currently stands at 3.6% locally and 3.3% statewide.
“That’s a great thing that people are employed but it’s an extremely difficult thing for employers who are constantly battling each other,” Wood noted. “We’re going to have to continue to be creative and work with companies to deal with workforce development issues, everything from the training all the way through K-12.”
While Wood said he didn’t believe that local industry was experiencing a downturn, “they are definitely seeing a slowing of their products going out their doors.”
“I don’t expect to see any problems with layoffs but you’re going to see people slow down a little bit on those hiring practices,” Wood said.
Wood said he was encouraged by a recent meeting between Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point’s Fleet Readiness Center East and New Bern’s BSH Home Appliances, which combined represent approximately 5,600 employees.
“They both have engineer needs, they both have technical needs,” Wood explained.
According to County Manager Jack Veit, another option being explored to increase local real estate available for future development is a possible new industrial park off of U.S. 17 that would be built in partnership with Jones County. The move would require the county to purchase large tracts of land, which would require a significant amount of infrastructure work, Veit acknowledged.
According to Veit, the county is currently working with the N.C. General Assembly to explore funding options for the proposed industrial park partnership.
By Todd Wetherington, co-editor. Send an email with questions or comments.