[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6491362,"mediaKeyId","5499814-cc4ff833695256be64e9e92c43be9ad9","parentId",5499814,"title","Harnett County economic development office details industrial sites, water constraints and retail interest","audioSeconds",2269,"startMs",1227000,"endMs",3496000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5499814-cc4ff833695256be64e9e92c43be9ad9&start=1227&end=3496","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5499814-cc4ff833695256be64e9e92c43be9ad9/thumbnail_1227000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6491362/Harnett-County/North-Carolina/Harnett-County-economic-development-office-details-industrial-sites-water-constraints-and-retail-interest","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6491362-ff1b5d437a8c5b1e622f8ad589c93715/orig.mp4?Expires=1773078475&Signature=n6krIM88gXD1vYxJgwRIbt3~lXWXAtgJQF~xihpZqson-B0Oo5VAA--7C458X9A0KtChRNS0DgXCL~TZuo98BQSVbLm1ZjJEowBgQSwzHiFMaAUB7wSwruZ8uf6yjPhhkfboK~GFpSEwrrzx5c6O6QK8roghPcbg-osM2QnTGv-I7nxwPzWRPeKCnnMwbwMQXPVIakF6KhFJh2vc2CnELM-7E0Wdl7-ISKoSsoL8z--4iHHrqGEX5gJIQSqyB4DQNRB96BOUKpWv2hue8FBmVXprtahDWltmHwauhtkeLe7ZjCZTntfhdlImvwyLNEo-bSYnlRJjPhnIYbxrFQkkzg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Harnett County, NC","date","2025-07-22T17:05:28Z","article","Steven Marrington, Harnett County economic development lead, briefed the Board of Commissioners on site‑readiness activity, active project prospects, and constraints the county faces when pursuing industrial and retail development.

Marrington said the county currently has five projects it considers active prospects and that the economic development team is submitting a larger share of inquiries than a year ago. “Now we’re submitting about 4 out of 10 project inquiries we received. A year ago, we were at 2,” Marrington said, characterizing that as a substantial increase in submittals.

He outlined several market-ready or near-ready sites the county and private partners are promoting: Harnett 95 Industrial Center (county acquisition of 51 acres plus 14 acres acquired by a private partner, 65 acres total); a planned 175,000-square-foot first building at Harnett 95 (Marrington said dirt work is expected to start after Labor Day with building 1 projected to come on line in 2026); Edgerton Industrial Park (engineer‑led grading and a green area expected cleared by November for 50,000–100,000-square-foot buildings); Midport 95 (private owner; Edgewater Ventures purchased 135 acres and is marketing for large build‑to‑suit projects); Central Carolina Industrial Park (the old Burlington Mills site) and the Brightwater Business Park.

Marrington highlighted a 67-acre rail site marketed with RJ Corman rail access near Lillington and said the county wants to protect rail-front acreage for future larger projects. He said some parcels remain underdeveloped and will require additional road or utility work before they are market-ready.

On constraints, Marrington said the county lacks both large, fully ready 200‑acre+ parcels and the smaller 10,000–35,000-square‑foot buildings that many prospects seek. He also emphasized infrastructure limits at the Robin Hood site and other east‑of‑I‑95 parcels: owners have not completed due diligence or set prices, and water and sewer capacities are insufficient for industrial-scale projects in some areas. “There’s water in some of that area, but it’s small lines, 2‑inch lines, nothing that can really support,” Marrington said, adding county staff (including Mr. Burns) are identifying capacity needs and planning potential extensions.

Marrington also said retail developers are actively evaluating several shopping-center sites across the county; he described three distinct shopping-center developers showing market interest in different parts of Harnett County. He said the county is working with partners — including private owners, the Harnett Economic Development Corporation, retail consultants (Retail Strategies) and municipal officials — to advance infrastructure and site-readiness.

Ending

Commissioners praised the report as more substantive than previous updates. Several asked follow-up questions about specific parcels, infrastructure timing and private‑sector partners. The transcript records discussion and clarifying answers; no recorded final vote was taken on actions in the work session excerpt.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of Commissioners Work Session 07/29/25","oneSentenceSummary","Economic development staff described five active prospect projects, progress on county-owned Harnett 95 property and other site-readiness work, and said water/sewer capacity limits and lack of smaller ready buildings remain constraints.","taxTitle","Harnett County, North Carolina","taxId",13715,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6491366,"Harnett County JCPC shifts to two-year awards, lists youth program allocations",194,833000,1027000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5499814-cc4ff833695256be64e9e92c43be9ad9&start=833&end=1027","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5499814-cc4ff833695256be64e9e92c43be9ad9/thumbnail_833000.jpg","/articles/6491366/Harnett-County/North-Carolina/Harnett-County-JCPC-shifts-to-two-year-awards-lists-youth-program-allocations","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6491366-be56a5887b0b55bb67fa4563c2c622e2/orig.mp4?Expires=1773078475&Signature=U0fj4u~8UVZEMPTCGFI3KTglYMlTbGvaDUcaaZLRCQcTnTGqVFr4rcFctFsy1fDKQXRyhrc1cg31tvYiTi5VuyhQtavvFvxQP3GYqJ1GNGReybqXsTI~SVaS6SfaSPV0~ClaaziRxKOvE7N5YNuVkD3zdxhvt~cGD7Qs2dHPoLe1wiqAX-0GWngO4QzEeFqED1NLjnqWJqHDiV5Qd~yOGImR2y95CdriOADtVIvM1iz-onKfusLhX5z8pyX7Pv23Uk2-76WkT1kTFjK-pSap-e1cR-ttQYZ7F~hpNiW9R2vPNHZu-3LJWFdTbvDCm6khzh1W8pa0Q0E4eJPpDhPB9g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Kimberly Whitted, chairperson of the Harnett County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, told the Board of Commissioners the council is recommending a change this year from yearly program awards to an option for two-year awards and presented the programs the council selected for funding.

Whitted said the two-year funding option means programs that are awarded will not have to reapply via a request for proposals in the intervening year but will remain subject to the JCPC’s monitoring and the state’s oversight. “We always do monitoring with all of the programs…so the continued monitoring that we do with the JCPC as well as with the state continues,” Whitted said.

Whitted listed awards for the upcoming funding period and described how the funds may be used: Harnett County juvenile restitution/community service and team court programs ($138,485); a Harnett County Sheriff’s Department program (amount read in the meeting as roughly $68,250); Dun Powell School Kids Empower and career-readiness programs (amount read as about $108,310); and administration, training and registration ($5,000). Whitted said the awards are for programs that have been in good standing with both the county and the state. The total amount stated in the presentation was read aloud by Whitted (the transcript records the total as “320 and $45,000”).

Whitted described permitted uses and limits on the awards. Programs submit budgets in their applications, and approved funds typically cover staff salaries, educational and evaluation materials, and other items tied to the program’s approved services. She said the JCPC’s funds support the tutoring and career-readiness portions of programs such as Harnett Pal and School Kids Empower but do not fund the sports components of those programs. “The sports part of their programming…we do not support or our funds are not used for the sports part of the program, only for the tutoring part,” Whitted said. She added that expenditures must match the approved application and will be verified through the JCPC’s monitoring.

A board member asked whether funds could be used for computer training; Whitted said purchases of computers or software could be included in a program’s approved budget if those items were requested and approved. The presentation concluded after several commissioners thanked Whitted for the explanation and the council’s work.

Ending

Whitted asked the board for permission to submit the county plan and related agreements as required by state JCPC procedures. The transcript records the presentation and board questions; it does not include a recorded formal vote on the submission in the work-session excerpt.","The Harnett County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council told commissioners it shifted to a two-year funding period for selected programs and listed awards and allowable uses; monitoring and state oversight will continue, the council chair said.","actionData","errors"]

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Harnett County economic development office details industrial sites, water constraints and retail interest

Harnett County JCPC shifts to two-year awards, lists youth program allocations