Fuquay-Varina spending $1.75M to buy land to recruit manufacturer

Fuquay-Varina leaders have approved spending $1.75 million to buy 35 acres of land for an industrial park.

The property is currently owned by TE Connectivity. The money will come out of the town’s general fund, said Jim Seymour, Fuquay-Varina’s economic development director. It will not result in any borrowing or tax increases.

While town officials have not identified any specific companies, said Seymour, they have identified industries they hope to recruit, including those related to advanced engineering, medical device manufacturing and electrical component assembly.

“The Town Board put together an aggressive economic development strategy a couple of years ago and the purchase of this land for a business park location will help the town round-out its comprehensive economic development efforts,” said Adam Mitchell, Fuquay-Varina’s town manager.

TE is one of four large manufacturing companies in the town. The other three are Bob Barker Corp., which supplies products to prisons; John Deer Turf Care and Southbend, which sells commercial cooking equipment.

Under the agreement with TE, Fuquay-Varina has a 120 day due diligence period before to taking ownership. During which time, the town will “make sure the site isn’t contaminated with any environmental issues, or anything that would prohibit the development of the site,” Seymour said.

The land purchase is just the latest effort by Fuquay-Varina to encourage business expansion in the town. In February 2017, the town board approved spending $3.8 million toward the construction of a new arts center with a 300-seat theater. The project is expected to be completed this spring, Seymour said.

The town is also moving forward with plans to buy some existing buildings on Fuquay Avenue and Academy Street. Seymour said the town has decided to assign the properties to Armada Hoffler Properties, a Virginia Beach, Va. development company “with the intention of building a $35 to $40 million mixed use project downtown.”

This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 7:44 PM with the headline "Fuquay-Varina spending $1.75M to buy land to recruit manufacturer."